Rhein exerts anti-multidrug resistance in acute myeloid leukemia via targeting FTO to inhibit AKT/mTOR.

Chemotherapy failure and resistance are the leading causes of mortality in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the role of m6A demethylase FTO and its inhibitor rhein in AML and AML drug resistance is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the antileukemic effect of rhein on AML and explore its potential mechanisms underlying drug resistance. Bone marrow fluid was collected to assess FTO expression in AML. The Cell Counting Kit 8 reagent was used to assess cell viability. Migration assays were conducted to assess the cell migration capacity. Flow cytometry was used to determine the apoptotic effects of rhein and western blot analysis was used to detect protein expression. Online SynergyFinder software was used to calculate the drug synergy scores. The in-vivo antileukemic effect of rhein was assessed in an AML xenograft mouse model. We analyzed different types of AML bone marrow specimens to confirm that FTO is overexpressed in AML, particularly in cases of multidrug resistance. Subsequently, we conducted in-vivo and in-vitro investigations to explore the pharmacological activity and mechanism of rhein in AML and AML with multidrug resistance. The findings demonstrated that rhein effectively suppressed the proliferation and migration of AML cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner and induced apoptosis. Rhein targets FTO, inhibits the AKT/mTOR pathway, and exhibits synergistic antitumor effects when combined with azacitidine. This study elucidates the significant role of FTO and its inhibitor rhein in AML and AML with multidrug resistance, providing new insights for overcoming multidrug resistance in AML.

Constructing Interfacial Charge Transfer Channels and Electric Field in Violet Phosphorus-Based van der Waals Heterojunction for Phototherapy of Periodontitis.

Periodontitis, a chronic oral disease instigated by bacteria, severely compromises human oral health. The prevailing clinical treatment for periodontitis involves mechanical scraping in conjunction with antibiotics. Phototherapy is employed to rapidly remove the bacteria and achieve periodontitis treatment, effectively circumventing the adverse effects associated with traditional therapies. Constructing 2D/2D van der Waals (VDW) heterojunctions is a key strategy for obtaining excellent photocatalytic activity. Herein, a 2D/2D violet phosphorus (VP)/Ti3C2 VDW heterojunction is designed using an interfacial engineering strategy. By constructing an electron transport "bridge" (P-Ti bond) at the heterogeneous interface as an effective transfer channel for photogenerated carriers, a compact monolithic structure between the VP and Ti3C2 phases is formed, and the spatial barrier for electron transfer at the interface is eliminated. Meanwhile, the strong directional built-in electric field induced by the intensive electron-coupling effect at the heterogeneous interface served as an internal driving force, which greatly accelerates the exciton dissociation and charge transfer in the photocatalytic process. These excited photogenerated electrons and holes are trapped by O2 and H2O on the surfaces of Ti3C2 and VP, respectively, and are subsequently catalytically converted to antibacterial reactive oxygen species (ROS). The VP/Ti3C2 VDW heterojunction eradicated 97.5% and 98.48% of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively, by photocatalytic and photothermal effects under visible light for 10 min. The VP/Ti3C2 nanoperiodontal dressing ointment effectively attenuated inflammatory response, reduced alveolar bone resorption, and promoted periodontal soft and hard tissue repair. Its periodontitis therapeutic effect outperforms the clinically used Periocline.

Seasonal patterns in Chinese population: Validating the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire and exploring associations with psychiatric diagnoses and biological rhythms.

Seasonal patterns (SP) exert a notable influence on the course and prognosis of patients with affective disorders, serving as a specifier in diagnosis. However, there is limited exploration of seasonality among psychotic patients, and the distinctions in seasonality among psychiatric patients remain unclear. In this study, we enrolled 198 psychiatric patients with anxiety and depressive disorders (A&D), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia (SZ), as well as healthy college students. Online questionnaires, including the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) for seasonality, the Morningness and Eveningness Questionnaire-5 (MEQ-5) for chronotypes, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), were administered. The validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the SPAQ were thoroughly analyzed, revealing a Cronbach's alpha of 0.896 with a two-factor structure. Results indicated that higher seasonality was correlated with poorer sleep quality and a more delayed chronotype (p < 0.05). Significant monthly variations were particularly evident in BD, specifically in mood, appetite, weight, social activities, and sleep dimensions (p < 0.001). In summary, the Chinese version of SPAQ is validated, demonstrating moderate correlations between seasonality, chronotype, and sleep quality. BD patients exhibited the strongest seasonality, while mood disorder patients displayed more delayed chronotypes than SZ.

Multiple Functions of l-Thioproline in the Synthesis of Chiral Metal Bromides Showing Second-Harmonic-Generation Responses.

Three new homochiral metal bromides, namely, (l-Htp)2Cu2Br4 (1), (l-Htp)(l-tp)CdBr3 (2), and (l-tp)2ZnBr2 (3), were prepared using l-thioproline as the chiral template. These compounds feature dimeric, chainlike, and monomeric structures. Their second-harmonic-generation (SHG) efficiencies are 0.1, 0.3, and 2.0 times that of KH2PO4, respectively. Density functional theory calculations were performed to reveal the origin of the SHG response of compound 3.

Application of dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound analysis in predicting early response to systemic therapy of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) analysis in early prediction of tumor response to systemic treatment in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). PATIENTS & METHODS: In this retrospective study, patients diagnosed with ICC by core needle biopsy and histopathological results were included. All patients were diagnosed as advanced stages (stage III/IV) by the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)/International Union Against Cancer (UICC) TNM staging system. Liver contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examination, DCE-US analysis, CT/MRI, and blood tests were performed in all patients before and 2 months after systemic treatment. CEUS procedure was performed using an ultrasound system (ACUSON Sequoia; Siemens Medical Solutions, Germany) equipped with a 5C1 MHz convex array transducer. Time-intensity curves (TIC) and quantitative parameters were created with VueBox software. According to one-year results of the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (m-RECIST) based on CT/MRI, patients were divided into the responder group (RG) and the non-responder group (NRG). Before and 2 months after systemic therapy, the DCE-US perfusion parameters was compared using the paired-sample t test and the Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: From September 2020 to December 2021, a total of 24 patients diagnosed with advanced ICC were included (11 males, 13 females, mean age 59.4 ± 1.8 years). According to the one year of m-RECIST results, 17 cases (70.8 %) were classified as non-responders by the final m-RECIST criteria, while 7 cases (19.2 %) were responders. Comparing before and 2 months after therapy, the RG took longer time to reach peak intensity, and the peak intensity of TIC was lower. While the TICs of NRG revealed faster enhancement after therapy. Among all DCE-US quantitative parameters, PE (peak enhancement), WiR (wash-in rate), WiPI (wash-in perfusion index) and WoR (wash-out rate) reduced significantly following 2 months of systemic therapy in RG (P < 0.05). Comparing to RG, PE and WiPI decreased slightly 2 months after therapy in NRG (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The DCE-US analysis with quantitative parameters has the potential value to make early and quantitative evaluation of treatment response to systemic therapy in ICC patients.

Kidney toxicity and transcriptome analyses of male ICR mice acutely exposed to the mushroom toxin α-amanitin.

Amatoxins are responsible for most fatal mushroom poisoning cases, as it causes both hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. However, studies on amatoxin nephrotoxicity are limited. Here, we investigated nephrotoxicity over 4 days and nephrotoxicity/hepatotoxicity over 14 days in mice. The organ weight ratio, serological indices, and tissue histology results indicated that a nephrotoxicity mouse model was established with two stages: (1) no apparent effects within 24 h; and (2) the appearance of adverse effects, with gradual worsening within 2-14 days. For each stage, the kidney transcriptome revealed patterns of differential mRNA expression and significant pathway changes, and Western blot analysis verified the expression of key proteins. Amanitin-induced nephrotoxicity was directly related to RNA polymerase II because mRNA levels decreased, RNA polymerase II-related pathways were significantly enriched at the transcription level, and RNA polymerase II protein was degraded in the early poisoning stage. In the late stage, nephrotoxicity was more severe than hepatotoxicity. This is likely associated with inflammation because inflammation-related pathways were significantly enriched and NF-κB activation was increased in the kidney.

Prediction of the activity of early ankylosing spondylitis using radiomics texture analysis on STIR.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to explore the value of texture analysis of radiomics based on the short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequence to evaluate the activity of bone marrow oedema of sacroiliac joints in early AS. METHODS: 43 patients with early AS whose data were randomly divided into the training cohort (n=116) and verification cohort (n=56) according to the ratio of 7:3. The optimal feature subsets were obtained by Mann-Whitney U-test, the minimum-Redundancy Maximum-Relevancy (mRMR), and then least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) using these texture feature parameters, which were used to construct the final prediction model and obtained the Radscore. The ROC curve was performed to evaluate the performance of the model. The Spearman correlation test was used to analyse the correlation of various indicators. RESULTS: In the training cohort, to differentiate early AS sacroiliac joint bone marrow oedema between the active and stable groups, the AUCs of the Radscore, SPARCC and ADC were 0.81, 0.91, 0.78, respectively. In the validation cohort, the AUCs were 0.87, 0.89, 0.85. In the two cohorts, there were no significant differences in AUCs between values of the Radscore and SPARCC, ADC (p>0.05). There was a significant difference in AUC between SPARCC and ADC in the training cohort (p<0.05), with no statistical significance in the validation cohort (p>0.05). The correlations were all low between the Radscore values and the values of ESR, CRP, tI, ASDAS-ESR and ASDAS-CRP (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Radiomics analysis based on STIR texture analysis has a good prediction for the evaluation of bone marrow oedema activity of sacroiliac joints in AS. It can be a new non-invasive and objective evaluation method for AS activity.

MM-Net: A MixFormer-Based Multi-Scale Network for Anatomical and Functional Image Fusion.

Anatomical and functional image fusion is an important technique in a variety of medical and biological applications. Recently, deep learning (DL)-based methods have become a mainstream direction in the field of multi-modal image fusion. However, existing DL-based fusion approaches have difficulty in effectively capturing local features and global contextual information simultaneously. In addition, the scale diversity of features, which is a crucial issue in image fusion, often lacks adequate attention in most existing works. In this paper, to address the above problems, we propose a MixFormer-based multi-scale network, termed as MM-Net, for anatomical and functional image fusion. In our method, an improved MixFormer-based backbone is introduced to sufficiently extract both local features and global contextual information at multiple scales from the source images. The features from different source images are fused at multiple scales based on a multi-source spatial attention-based cross-modality feature fusion (CMFF) module. The scale diversity of the fused features is further enriched by a series of multi-scale feature interaction (MSFI) modules and feature aggregation upsample (FAU) modules. Moreover, a loss function consisting of both spatial domain and frequency domain components is devised to train the proposed fusion model. Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms several state-of-the-art fusion methods on both qualitative and quantitative comparisons, and the proposed fusion model exhibits good generalization capability. The source code of our fusion method will be available at https://github.com/yuliu316316.

[Effect of Knocking Out HOXA5 Gene by CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Gene Editing Technique on Proliferation of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells].

OBJECTIVE: To construct a acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell line in which HOXA5 gene is stably knocked out by CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing technique, so as to clarify the effect of HOXA5 gene knockout on the proliferation of AML cells, and preliminarily explore the role of HOXA5 gene in the pathogenesis of AML. METHODS: The expression of HOXA5 in bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) of non-tumor hematological patients and newly diagnosed AML patients was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. The AML cell line KO-HOXA5-THP-1 was constructed in which HOXA5 gene was knocked out by CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated gene editing technique, and the knockout of HOXA5 gene was verified by qRT-PCR and Western blot, and the cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay. RESULTS: Compared with non-tumor hematological patients, the levels of HOXA5 gene and protein in BMMC of newly diagnosed AML patients were significantly increased (P <0.05). The stable HOXA5 knockout cell line can be obtained by CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated gene editing technique, and the proliferation ability of THP-1 cells with HOXA5 gene knockout was significantly decreased (P <0.05). CONCLUSION: HOXA5 is highly expressed in AML cells, and knocking out HOXA5 can significantly affect the proliferation ability of AML cells, which provides a new potential therapeutic target for the precise treatment of AML.

Multisite Fine-Tuning in Hybrid Cadmium Halides Enables Wide Range Emissions for Anti-Counterfeiting.

Achieving tunable emissions spanning the spectrum, from blue to near-infrared (NIR) light, within a single component is a formidable challenge with significant implication, particularly in tailoring multicolor luminescence for anti-counterfeiting purposes. In this study, we demonstrate a broad spectrum of emissions, covering blue to red and extending into NIR light in [BPy]2CdX4 : xSb3+ (BPy=Butylpyridinium; X=Cl, Br; x=0 to 0.08) through precise multisite structural fine-tuning. Notably, the multicolor emissions from [BPy]2CdBr4 : Sb3+ manifest a distinctive pattern, transitioning from blue to yellow in tandem with the host [BPy]2CdBr4 and further extending from yellow to NIR with its homologous [BPy]2CdCl4 : Sb3+, resulting in the simultaneous presence of intersecting and independent emission colors. Detailed modulation of chemical composition enables partial luminescence switching, facilitating the creation of diverse patterns with multicolor luminescence by employing [BPy]2CdX4 : xSb3+ as phosphors. This study for the first time successfully implements several groups of tunable emission colors in a single matrix via multisite fine-tuning. Such an effective strategy not only develops the specific relationships between tunable emissions and adjustable compositions, but also introduces a cost-effective and straightforward approach to achieving unique, high-level, plentiful-color and multiple-information-storage labels for advanced anti-counterfeiting applications.

Sonographic methods to predict type 2 diabetes patients with sarcopenia: B mode ultrasound and shear wave elastography.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes accelerates the loss of muscle mass and strength. Sarcopenia is also one of the chronic complications of diabetes. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of B mode ultrasound (BMUS) and shear wave elastography (SWE) for predicting type 2 diabetic sarcopenia. METHODS: We recorded Skeletal Muscle Mass Index (ASMI), grip strength, muscle thickness (MT), pinna angle (PA), fascicle length (FL), and the difference of Young's modulus in the relaxed states and tense states (ΔSWE). The correlations between clinical indicators and ultrasound characteristics were compared. A diagnostic model of sarcopenia was developed to assess the independent correlates and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of sarcopenia. RESULTS: ASMI was significantly and positively correlated with MT and ΔSWE (r = 0.826, 0.765, P <  0.01), and grip strength was significantly and positively correlated with MT and ΔSWE (r = 0.797, 0.818, P <  0.01). MT was the most significant predictor of sarcopenia (OR = 4.576, P <  0.001), and the cut-off value of MT was 11.4 mm (AUC: 0.952). CONCLUSION: BMUS and SWE can quantitatively assess muscle mass and strength, and are effective methods to predict the occurrence of sarcopenia in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes.

Normal value of virtual touch imaging quantification elastography in measurements of pancreas.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate pancreatic tissue stiffness and provide a normal reference shear wave velocity (SWV) value of pancreas from healthy adults by Virtual Touch Imaging Quantification (VTIQ) measurements. METHODS: Healthy adult volunteers without known history of hepatobiliary or pancreatic diseases were included. VTIQ elastography (Siemens ACUSON Sequoia, 5C-1 transducer) was used. SWV values were measured at the cephalic, corpus and tail of pancreas and replicated different operators' obtained data. Subgroups were classified according to the volunteers' gender, age, body mass index (BMI), depth of measurements and the echogenicity of the pancreas. RESULTS: From February 2023 to July 2023, 33 healthy adult volunteers were included. The success rate of VTIQ measurements in cephalic, corpus and tail regions was 90.90 % (30/33), 96.97 % (32/33) and 90.90 % (30/33) respectively. The color elastograms of healthy adult pancreas showed uniform blue or simultaneously blue and green. The average SWV values were 0.97±0.26 m/s for cephalic, 0.91±0.24 m/s for corpus and 0.97±0.25 m/s for pancreatic tail respectively (P = 0.198). The mean SWV values of pancreas did not show significant difference with age, gender or depth (P >  0.05). BMI was an influence factor in the measurements of SWV values of cephalic and tail of pancreas (P <  0.05). Pancreas with hyperechoic parenchyma showed higher mean SWV values (P <  0.05). The intra-observer (ICC = 0.938 [95% CI: 0.869-0.971]) and the inter-observer (ICC = 0.887 [95% CI: 0.760-0.947]) agreements of VTIQ measurements were excellent. CONCLUSIONS: The mean SWV value of the pancreas in healthy adults was 0.96±0.20 m/s (range: 0.52-1.74 m/s). VTIQ technique can be used in pancreatic stiffness measurements with good reliability.

Time-series transcriptome reveals inflammatory signature in monocytes and neutrophils following acute heat exposure in mine rescuers.

Occupational exposure to extreme high temperatures and the increasing global temperatures necessitates a deeper understanding of the impact of heat exposure on human health. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the response of monocytes and neutrophils to heat exposure in occupational population remain to be fully elucidated. This study used longitudinal transcriptome to assess the impact of acute heat exposure (50°C for 30 min) in 10 subjects from a mine rescue team before acute heat exposure (baseline) and at 5 min, 30 min, 1 h, and 24 h after acute heat exposure (recovery). The time-series analysis revealed a coordinated molecular choreography of changes involving inflammation, coagulation, extracellular matrix, and energy metabolism. Importantly, the study characterized the inflammatory signature associated with heat exposure in monocytes and neutrophils, as evidenced by the rapid activation of the inflammation-related transcriptome following heat exposure. Additionally, we pinpointed potential regulators, such as NR4A1, FOSL1, EGR3, and ATF3. In summary, the study suggested that the initial response to heat stress in monocytes and neutrophils from mine rescue team member was primarily characterized by a pro-inflammatory stress response, which could potentially lead to the development of inflammation and ultimately result in a systemic inflammatory response in heatstroke.

Rethinking the Effectiveness of Objective Evaluation Metrics in Multi-focus Image Fusion: A Statistic-based Approach.

As an effective technique to extend the depth-of-field (DOF) of optical lenses, multi-focus image fusion has recently become an active topic in image processing community. However, a major problem remaining unsolved in this field is the lack of universal criteria in selecting objective evaluation metrics. Consequently, the metrics utilized in different studies often vary significantly, leading to high difficulties in achieving unbiased evaluation. To address this problem, this paper proposes a statistic-based approach for verifying the effectiveness of objective metrics in multi-focus image fusion. The core idea is to adopt statistical correlation measures to evaluate the performance consistency between a certain fusion metric and some popular full-reference image quality assessment models. In addition, a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based fusion metric is presented to measure the similarity between the source images and the fused image based on the semantic features at multiple abstraction levels. A comparative study is conducted to evaluate 20 existing fusion metrics using the proposed statistic-based approach on a large-scale, realistic and with-ground-truth multi-focus image fusion dataset recently released. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach in evaluating the effectiveness of objective metrics and the advantage of our CNN-based metric. Resources will be released at https://github.com/yuliu316316.

Diagnostic performance of a multiplexed gastrointestinal PCR panel for identifying diarrheal pathogens in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

BACKGROUND: Diarrhea is a common complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and is associated with substantial morbidity, but its etiology is often unknown. Etiologies of diarrhea in this population include infectious causes, chemotherapy- or medication-induced mucosal injury and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Distinguishing these potential causes of diarrhea is challenging since diarrheal symptoms are often multifactorial, and the etiologies often overlap in transplant patients. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether the FilmArray gastrointestinal (GI) panel would increase diagnostic yield and the degree to which pre-transplantation colonization predicts post-transplantation infection. METHODS: From November 2019 to February 2021, a total of 158 patients undergoing HSCT were prospectively included in the study. Stool specimens were obtained from all HSCT recipients prior to conditioning therapy, 28 ± 7 days after transplantation and at any new episode of diarrhea. All stool samples were tested by the FilmArray GI panel and other clinical microbiological assays. RESULTS: The primary cause of post-transplantation diarrhea was infection (57/84, 67.86%), followed by medication (38/84, 45.24%) and GVHD (21/84, 25.00%). Ninety-five of 158 patients were colonized with at least one gastrointestinal pathogen before conditioning therapy, and the incidence of infectious diarrhea was significantly higher in colonized patients (47/95, 49.47%) than in non-colonized patients (10/63, 15.87%) (P < 0.001). Fourteen of 19 (73.68%) patients who were initially colonized with norovirus pre-transplantation developed a post-transplantation norovirus infection. Twenty-four of 62 (38.71%) patients colonized with Clostridium difficile developed a diarrheal infection. In addition, FilmArray GI panel testing improved the diagnostic yield by almost twofold in our study (55/92, 59.78% vs. 30/92, 32.61%). CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that more than half of pediatric patients who were admitted for HSCT were colonized with various gastrointestinal pathogens, and more than one-third of these pathogens were associated with post-transplantation diarrhea. In addition, the FilmArray GI panel can increase the detection rate of diarrheal pathogens in pediatric HSCT patients, but the panel needs to be optimized for pathogen species, and further studies assessing its clinical impact and cost-effectiveness in this specific patient population are also needed.

Azacitidine maintenance therapy for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm allograft: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare, highly invasive malignant neoplasm. There is no universally accepted standard of care because of its rarity and the dearth of prospective research. It is still challenging for some patients to achieve persistent clinical remission or cure, despite the success of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), indicating that there is still a significant recurrence rate. We report a case of prevention of BPDCN allograft recurrence by azacitidine maintenance therapy and review the relevant literature. CASE SUMMARY: We report a 41-year-old man with BPDCN who was admitted to hospital due to skin sclerosis for > 5 mo' duration. BPDCN was diagnosed by combined clinical assessment and laboratory examinations. Following diagnosis, the patients underwent induction consolidation chemotherapy to achieve the first complete remission, followed by bridging allo-HSCT. Post-transplantation, azacitidine (75 mg/m2 for 7 d) was administered as maintenance therapy, with repeat administration every 4-6 wk and appropriate extension of the chemotherapy cycle. After 10 cycles, the patient has been disease free for 26 mo after transplantation. Regular assessments of bone marrow morphology, minimal residual disease, full donor chimerism, Epstein-Barr virus, and cytomegalovirus all yielded normal results with no abnormalities detected. CONCLUSION: Azacitidine may be a safe and effective maintenance treatment for BPDCN following transplantation because there were no overt adverse events during the course of treatment.

Hepatic steatosis using ultrasound-derived fat fraction: First technical and clinical evaluation.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the technical and clinical evaluation of ultrasound-derived fat fraction (UDFF) measurement in adult patients in whom fatty liver was suspected. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective study, 41 participants were initially enrolled in our hospital between October 2022 and December 2022 and received UDFF assessment using Siemens ACUSON Sequoia system equipped with DAX transducer. UDFF measurement was performed three times to obtain UDFF values from each imaging location (V hepatic segment and VIII hepatic segment) per participant, and the depth (skin-to-capsule distance) was automatically measured. The echogenicity of liver tissue in B mode ultrasound (BMUS) was compared to the normal kidney tissue, and fatty liver was graded as mild (Grade 1), moderate (Grade 2), and severe (Grade 3). The median of the acquired overall median UDFF values was used for statistical analysis. All ultrasound examinations were performed by one of two radiologists (with 20 and 10 years of liver ultrasound imaging experience). RESULTS: Finally, UDFF measurement was successfully performed on 38 participants to obtain valid values, including 21 men with a median age of 40.0 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 23.0 - 58.5) and 17 women with a median age of 60.0 years (IQR: 29.5 - 67.0). Fatty liver was diagnosed by BMUS features in 47.4% (18/38) participants. Among all participants, the median UDFF value was 7.0% (IQR: 4.0 - 15.6). A significant difference in UDFF values was found between participants with fatty liver and without fatty liver (U = 7.0, P < 0.001), and UDFF values elevated as the grade of the fatty liver increased (P < 0.001). The median UDFF values from the three UDFF measurements obtained during each ultrasound examination showed excellent agreement (ICC = 0.882 [95% confidence interval: 0.833 - 0.919]). The Spearman correlation of UDFF values in different depths was moderate, with a rs value of 0.546 (P < 0.001). No significant differences in UDFF values were found between V hepatic segment and VIII hepatic segment (U = 684.5, P = 0.697). CONCLUSIONS: UDFF provides a novel non-invasive imaging tool for hepatic steatosis assessment with excellent feasibility.

In Situ Chiral Template Approach to Synthesize Homochiral Lead Iodides for Second-Harmonic Generation.

Homochiral halide perovskites have gained increasing attention because of their fascinating optoelectronic properties and prospective applications in laser technologies. However, the limited choice of chiral organic templates severely restricts their structural diversity and second-harmonic generation (SHG) effects. Here, we present an in situ chiral template approach for the synthesis of one-dimensional (1D) homochiral lead iodides. A chiral imine (L-ipp) template was generated in situ by reacting L-proline (L-pro) and acetone under ambient conditions. Notably, L-ipp can cooperate with L-pro to direct the formation of a homochiral lead iodide with dual chiral templates, which is unprecedented in crystalline metal halides. The homochiral lead iodide containing both L-ipp and L-pro shows a strong SHG response of 8.0 times that of KH2 PO4 (8.0×KDP). The SHG efficiency is one of the largest values reported to date for any homochiral lead halides under 1064 nm laser irradiation. A comparative study shows that homochiral 1D lead iodides containing either L-ipp or L-pro exhibit relatively weak SHG responses (≤1.0×KDP). This work demonstrates the advantage of using two different chiral templates over a single chiral template in enhancing the SHG responses of halide materials.

Synthesis and structure-dependent optical properties of two new organic-inorganic hybrid antimony(III) chlorides.

Two organic-inorganic hybrid antimony(III) chlorides, namely (C9H26N3)2Sb4Cl18 (1) and (C9H26N3)SbCl6 (2), were prepared using a facile solvent evaporation method. They have low-dimensional structures constructed from SbCl6 octahedra and triply protonated N,N,N',N'',N''-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine cations. The organic cations exhibit different conformations in the two compounds. Compound 1 crystallizes in the centrosymmetric space group P1̄, while compound 2 crystallizes in the noncentrosymmetric space group Pca21. Notably, compound 2 exhibits a moderate second harmonic generation (SHG) response of about 1.3 times that of KH2PO4 (KDP) under 1064 nm laser irradiation. Meanwhile, this compound displays green-yellow luminescence under 342 nm ultraviolet light irradiation, indicating its potential as a bifunctional optical material. Theoretical calculations based on density functional theory were also performed to gain insights into the correlation between their structures and optical properties.

The mediating effect of psychological resilience between social support and anxiety/depression in people living with HIV/AIDS-a study from China.

Objective To understand the relationship between psychological resilience in social support and anxiety/depression in people living with HIV/AIDS and to verify whether there is a mediating effect. Methods The questionnaire was administered to 161 people living with HIV/AIDS in a hospital. The questionnaire contained a general questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Psychological Resilience Inventory (CD-RICS), and the Social Collaborative Support Scale (PSSS), and Pearson correlation analyses were used to explore the correlation between the factors and anxiety/depression, stratified linear regression analyses were used to validate the mediation model, and the bootstrap method was used to test for mediating effects. Results Anxiety was negatively correlated with psychological resilience and social support (r=-0.232, P < 0.01; r=-0.293, P < 0.01); depression was negatively correlated with psychological resilience and social support (r=-0.382, P < 0.01; r=-0.482, P < 0.01); there was a mediation effect model of social support between psychological resilience and anxiety/depression; psychological resilience played a fully mediating role in social support and anxiety/depression, with an effect contribution of 68.42%/59.34% and a 95% CI(-0.256~-0.036)/(-0.341 to~-0.106). Conclusion Psychological resilience plays a complete mediating effect between social support and anxiety/depression. It is recommended that more channels of social support be provided to patients with HIV/AIDS, thereby enhancing their psychological resilience and reducing anxiety/depression levels.