Disruption of Periaqueductal Gray-default Mode Network Functional Connectivity in Patients with Crohn's Disease with Abdominal Pain.

Abdominal pain in Crohn's disease (CD) has been known to be associated with changes in the central nervous system. The periaqueductal gray (PAG) plays a well-established role in pain processing. However, the role of PAG-related network and the effect of pain on the network in CD remain unclear.Resting-state functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) data were collected from 24 CD patients in remission with abdominal pain, 24 CD patients without abdominal pain and 28 healthy controls (HCs). Using the subregions of PAG (dorsomedial (dmPAG), dorsolateral (dlPAG), lateral (lPAG) and ventrolateral (vlPAG)) as seeds, the seed-based FC maps were calculated and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to investigate the differences among the three groups.Results showed that the group differences were mainly involved in the FC of the vlPAG with the precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as well as orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the FC of the right lateral PAG (lPAG) with the precuneus, inferior parietal lobule (IPL), angular gyrus and premotor cortex. The FC values of all these regions decreased successively in the order of HCs, CD without abdominal pain and CD with abdominal pain. The pain score was negatively correlated with the FC of the l/vlPAG with the precuneus, angular gyrus and mPFC in CD patients with abdominal pain.This study implicated the disrupt communication between the PAG and the default mode network (DMN). These findings complemented neuroimaging evidence for the pathophysiology of visceral pain in CD patients.

Altered functional connectivity density and structural covariance networks in women with premenstrual syndrome.

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a menstrual-related disorder, characterized by physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive symptoms. However, the neuropathological mechanisms of PMS remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the frequency-specific functional connectivity density (FCD) and structural covariance in PMS. Methods: Functional and T1-weighted structural data were obtained from 35 PMS patients and 36 healthy controls (HCs). This study was a cross-sectional and prospective design. The local/long-range FCD (LFCD/LRFCD) across slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz) and slow-5 (0.01-0.027 Hz) bands were computed, and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to ascertain the main effects of group and interaction effects between group and frequency band. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to investigate reliable biomarkers for identifying PMS from HCs. Based on the ROC results, characterized the changes of whole-brain structural covariance patterns of striatum subregions in two groups. Correlation analysis was applied to examine relationships between the clinical symptoms and abnormal brain regions. Results: Compared with HCs, PMS patients exhibited: (I) aberrant functional communication in the middle cingulate cortex and precentral gyrus; (II) significant frequency band-by-group interaction effects of the striatum, thalamus and orbitofrontal cortex; (III) the better classification ability of the LFCD in the striatum in ROC analysis (slow-5); (IV) decreased gray matter volumes in the caudate subregions and decreased structural associations of between the caudate subregions and frontal cortex; (V) the LFCD value in thalamus were significantly negatively correlated with the sleep problems (slow-5). Conclusions: Based on multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis, this study might imply the aberrant emotional regulation and cognitive function related to menstrual cycle in PMS and improve our understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanism in PMS from novel perspective.

A Highly Crystalline Single Layer 2D Polymer for Low Variability and Excellent Scalability Molecular Memristors.

Large-scale growth of highly crystalline single layer 2D polymers (SL-2DPs) and their subsequent integration into memristors is key to advancing the development of high-density data storage devices. However, leakage problems resulting from the porous structure of 2DPs continue to make such advances extremely challenging. Herein, we overcome this issue by incorporating long alkoxy chains into key molecular building blocks to obtain a highly crystalline 2DP, as visualized by scanning tunneling microscopy, and prevent metal permeation in the subsequent device fabrication process. SL-2DP memristors constructed via direct evaporation of the top electrodes exhibit low variability (σVset  = 0.14) due to the single-monomer-thick feature together with the high regular structure and coordination ability which minimizes the stochastic spatial distribution of conductive filaments (CFs) in both vertical and lateral dimensions. The variability is further decreased to 0.04 by confining the formation and fracture of CFs to the interface through the utilization of bilayer junctions. Using peak force tunneling atomic force microscopy, the nanometer scalability (< 50 nm2 ) and low power consumption of these molecular memristor devices are demonstrated.

Changes of insular function in lifelong premature ejaculation patients before and after SSRI administration.

OBJECTIVE: Lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) is regarded as one of the most common male sexual dysfunction. We aimed to detect whether insula-related brain functional networks are altered in lifelong PE patients and whether such alterations are "normalised" after selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) administration. METHODS: Twenty-three drug-naive lifelong PE patients and 30 healthy controls (HC) were recruited in current study. All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan at first. One hour after dapoxetine administration, all patients underwent fMRI scanning again. The degree centrality (DC), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis, and ROI-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis were applied to calculate the abnormalities in insula-related functions among three groups. RESULTS: Compared to HC group, PE patients at baseline showed significantly altered DC, ALFF, and ReHo value of the bilateral insula, which subsequently showed a "normalised" trend after dapoxetine administration. Additionally, compared to HC group, PE patients at baseline showed significantly decreased FC between insula and precentral gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, middle/inferior temporal gyrus, and caudate, while patients after dapoxetine administration showed increased insula-related FC in anterior cingulate cortex and decreased FC in thalamus and middle/inferior temporal gyrus. The main effects of dapoxetine were located in precentral gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, caudate, and limbic system. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings report altered brain mechanism of insula in lifelong PE patients and also indicate that dapoxetine can "normalise" the abnormal function of the insula to certain extent in lifelong PE patients.

Percentage amplitude of fluctuation and structural covariance changes of subjective cognitive decline in patients: A multimodal imaging study.

Back ground: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may be the first clinical sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The possible neural mechanisms of SCD are not well known. This study aimed to compare percent amplitude of fluctuation (PerAF) and structural covariance patterns in patients with SCD and healthy controls (HCs). Methods: We enrolled 53 patients with SCD and 65 HCs. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data and T1-weighted anatomical brain 3.0-T MRI scans were collected. The PerAF approach was applied to distinguish altered brain functions between the two groups. A whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed, and all significant regions were selected as regions of interest (ROIs) for the structural covariance analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using two-sample t-tests, and multiple regressions were applied to examine the relationships between neuroimaging findings and clinical symptoms. Results: Functional MRI results revealed significantly increased PerAF including the right hippocampus (HIPP) and right thalamus (THA) in patients with SCD relative to HCs. Gray matter volume (GMV) results demonstrated decreased GMV in the bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and right insula in patients with SCD relative to HCs. Taking these three areas including the bilateral vlPFC and right insula as ROIs, differences were observed in the structural covariance of the ROIs with several regions between the two groups. Additionally, significant correlations were observed between neuroimaging findings and clinical symptoms. Conclusion: Our study investigated the abnormal PerAF and structural covariance patterns in patients with SCD, which might provide new insights into the pathological mechanisms of SCD.

Multivariate Pattern Analysis of Lifelong Premature Ejaculation Based on Multiple Kernel Support Vector Machine.

Objective: This study aimed to develop an effective support vector machine (SVM) classifier based on the multi-modal data for detecting the main brain networks involved in group separation of premature ejaculation (PE). Methods: A total of fifty-two patients with lifelong PE and 36 matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Structural MRI data, functional MRI data, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were used to process SPM12, DPABI4.5, and PANDA, respectively. A total of 12,735 features were reduced by the Mann-Whitney U test. The resilience nets method was further used to select features. Results: Finally, 36 features (3 structural MRI, 7 functional MRI, and 26 DTI) were chosen in the training dataset. We got the best SVM model with an accuracy of 97.5% and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.986 in the training dataset as well as an accuracy of 91.4% and an AUC of 0.966 in the testing dataset. Conclusion: Our findings showed that the majority of the brain abnormalities for the classification was located within or across several networks. This study may contribute to the neural mechanisms of PE and provide new insights into the pathophysiology of patients with lifelong PE.

Abnormal percent amplitude of fluctuation and functional connectivity within and between networks in benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.

BACKGROUND: Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is one of the most common childhood epilepsy syndromes. The neural basis of BECTS is still poorly understood. This study aimed to further investigate the possible neural mechanisms of BECTS by comparing percent amplitude of fluctuation (PerAF) of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) signal of each brain voxel and connectivity within and between related networks in children with BECTS and healthy controls (HCs). METHODS: Firstly, we used PerAF method to investigate brain functional alteration and defined the regions of interest (ROIs) where children with BECTS exhibited significant PerAF alterations compared to HCs. We then divided these ROIs into different networks based on previous findings and investigated alterations of functional connectivity within and between networks in children with BECTS. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to assess the reliable biomarker for distinguishing children with BECTS from HCs based on the intergroup PerAF differences. RESULTS: Children with BECTS showed decreased PerAF in the left middle frontal cortex (MFC), right precentral gyrus, left precuneus (PCUN), bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), left angular gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), right supplementary motor area (SMA) and left primary somatosensory cortex (S1) compared to HCs. The IPL and PCC exhibited higher classification power by ROC analysis. Moreover, our findings exhibited increased Intra-network connectivity in the default mode network (DMN), and increased inter-network connectivity of the sensorimotor network (SMN) with Broca's area and DMN. CONCLUSIONS: Our study investigated the abnormal PerAF and functional brain networks in children with BECTS, which might provide new insights into the pathological mechanisms of BECTS.

Effect of Moxibustion Treatment on Degree Centrality in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a common neurological disorder. Moxibustion has been shown to be effective in treating MCI, but its therapeutic mechanisms still remain unclear. This study mainly aimed to investigate the modulation effect of moxibustion treatment for patients with MCI by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods: A total of 47 patients with MCI and 30 healthy controls (HCs) participated in resting-state fMRI imaging (rs-fMRI) scans. Patients with MCI were randomly divided into true moxibustion group (TRUE, n = 30) and sham moxibustion group (SHAM, n = 17). The degree centrality (DC) approach was applied to distinguish altered brain functions. Correlation analysis was then performed to examine the relationships between the neuroimaging findings and clinical symptoms. Results: Compared with HCs, patients with MCI mainly showed decreased DC in the left middle frontal cortex (MFC) and bilateral middle cingulate cortex (MCC). After moxibustion treatment, the SHAM group had no significant DC findings, while TRUE group mainly showed significant increased DC in the bilateral MFC and MCC, as well as decreased DC in the left middle occipital cortex (MOC). Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant interactions between the two groups of patients with MCI. In addition, the higher Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was significantly positively correlated with increased DC in the right MFC and left MCC after moxibustion treatment. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that the potential value of moxibustion treatment on MCI, which adds new insights into the popular view that moxibustion treatment may slow cognitive decline in patients with MCI.

Hypothalamic-related neural mechanism in lifelong premature ejaculation and trends following selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor administration.

Lifelong premature ejaculation patients had altered structural and functional parameters of the hypothalamus compared with healthy controls. The patients showed increased hypothalamus-related functional connectivity in several regions one hour after dapoxetine administration. The changing trends of the brain functional connectivity after dapoxetine administration possibly provided important information about the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor effects on the functional neural system.

Altered structural covariance and functional connectivity of the insula in patients with Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is a clinically chronic inflammatory bowel disease, which has been shown to be closely related to the brain-gut axis dysfunction. Although traditionally considered to be a limbic region, the insula has also been commonly identified as an abnormal brain region in previous CD-related studies. METHODS: Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI images were acquired from 45 CD patients in remission and 40 healthy controls (HCs). Three neuroimaging analysis methods including voxel-based morphometry (VBM), structural covariance, and functional connectivity (FC) were applied to investigate structural and functional alterations of the insulae between the CD patients and HCs. Pearson correlation was then used to examine the relationships between neuroimaging findings and clinical symptoms. RESULTS: Compared with the HCs, CD patients exhibited decreased gray matter volume (GMV) in the left dorsal anterior insula (dAI) and bilateral posterior insula (PI). Taking these three areas including the left dAI, right PI, and left PI as regions of interest (ROIs), differences were observed in the structural covariance and FC of the ROI with several regions between the two groups. After controlling for psychological factors, the differences of several regions involved in emotional processing in GMV in the left dAI, the FC of the dAI, and the right PI were not significant. The FC of the parahippocampus/hippocampus with dAI and PI were negatively correlated with the CD activity index (CDAI). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the insula-centered structural and/or functional changes may be associated with abnormal visceral sensory processing and related emotional responses in CD patients.

Functional Connectivity of Nucleus Accumbens Is Associated with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation in Male Adults : A Resting-state fMRI Study.

PURPOSE: Ejaculation represents a crucial component of sexual behavior in men, which is involved in reward functions of certain brain areas including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most prevalent sexual dysfunctions in men. It is suggested to be related to abnormal brain function. This study aimed to explore changes of the functional connectivity patterns of NAcc and possible correlations of the neuroimaging abnormalities with clinical features in lifelong PE patients. METHODS: The sample consisted with 42 lifelong PE patients and 30 healthy controls. All participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scans and clinical symptoms. The functional connectivity (FC) approach was applied to investigate differences of NAcc-seed intrinsic connectivity between two groups and correlation analysis was used to access possible relationships between the imaging findings and clinical features, such as premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) or intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT). RESULTS: Results showed that lifelong PE patients had decreased FC between the NAcc and thalamus, superior temporal pole, superior temporal cortex (STC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), orbitofrontal cortex, caudate and putamen. A significantly negative correlation between the PEDT score and NAcc-STC connectivity (r = -0.46) was found in lifelong PE patients, while IELT score positively correlated with the NAcc-IFG connectivity (r = 0.48) and NAcc-thalamus connectivity (r = 0.46). CONCLUSION: The findings may facilitate a more sophisticated understanding of neural mechanisms of lifelong PE, particularly associated with the NAcc-related intrinsic connectivity during the resting state.

Thalamocortical Dysconnectivity In Lifelong Premature Ejaculation: A Functional MRI Study.

OBJECTIVES: To detect seed-based functional connectivity (FC) between various cortical sub-regions and the thalamus in lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) patients and explore whether specific thalamocortical networks are significantly altered in PE patients compared to healthy controls (HCs) METHODS: Fifty non-medicated LPE patients and 40 age-matched HCs underwent a resting-state functional MRI. FC was adopted to identify specific thalamocortical connectivity between the thalamus and 6 cortical regions of interest (i.e., the motor cortex/supplementary motor, the prefrontal cortex, the temporal lobe, the posterior parietal cortex, the somatosensory cortex and the occipital lobe). In LPE patients, regression analysis was subsequently conducted to assess relationships of thalamocortical connectivity with the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) score and the Intravaginal Ejaculatory Latency Time (IELT). RESULTS: LPE patients had significantly decreased FC between the motor cortex and bilateral ventral thalamus, between the prefrontal cortex and left dorsomedial thalamus, as well as between the temporal cortex and bilateral ventromedial thalamus. In LPE patients, PEDT score was significantly positively associated with the thalamus-posterior parietal cortex FC, and negatively associated with the thalamus-temporal cortex FC, while IELT was positively associated with the thalamus-temporal cortex and thalamus-motor cortex FC. CONCLUSION: These results enrich the imaging evidence for the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms and/or consequences of LPE.

Regional Gray Matter Volume Changes in Brains of Patients With Ulcerative Colitis.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are 2 subtypes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Several studies have reported brain abnormalities in IBD patients. This study aims to identify differences of gray matter volume (GMV) between patients with UC and healthy controls (HCs). METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with UC and 40 HCs underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Voxel-based morphometry method was used to detect GMV differences. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to investigate reliable biomarkers for identifying patients with UC from HCs. Regression analysis was used to examine relationships between the structure alternations and clinical symptoms. RESULTS: Compared with HCs, patients with UC showed decreased GMV in the insula, thalamus, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus/parahippocampus, amygdala, and temporal pole; they showed increased GMV in the putamen, supplementary motor area, periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus, and precentral gyrus. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed the highest classification power of thalamus. The inclusion of anxiety and depression as covariates eliminated the differences in the right insula, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area, and precentral gyrus. Most of the GMV changes were found in active patients with UC, with few changes in patients with UC in remission. We also found significantly negative correlation between UC duration and GMV in several regions. CONCLUSION: The current neuroimaging findings were involved in visceral sensory pathways and were partially associated with the levels of anxiety and depression and clinical stage of patients with UC. This study might provide evidence for possible neuromechanisms of UC.

Organic Semiconductor Crystal Engineering for High-Resolution Layer-Controlled 2D Crystal Arrays.

2D organic semiconductor crystals (2DOSCs) have extraordinary charge transport capability, adjustable photoelectric properties, and superior flexibility, and have stimulated continuous research interest for next-generation electronic and optoelectronic applications. The prerequisite for achieving large-area and high-throughput optoelectronic device integration is to fabricate high-resolution 2DOSC arrays. Patterned substrate- and template-assisted self-assembly is an effective strategy to fabricate OSC arrays. However, the film thickness is difficult to control due to the complicated crystallization process during solvent evaporation. Therefore, the manufacturing of 2DOSC arrays with high-resolution and controllable molecular-layer numbers through solution-based patterning methods remains a challenge. Herein, a two-step strategy to produce high-resolution layer-controlled 2DOSC arrays is reported. First, large-scale 2DOSCs with well-defined layer numbers are obtained by a solution-processed organic semiconductor crystal engineering method. Next, the high-resolution layer-controlled 2DOSC arrays are fabricated by a polydimethylsiloxane mold-assisted selective contact evaporation printing technique. The organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on 2DOSC arrays have high electrical performance and excellent uniformity. The 2,6-bis(4-hexylphenyl)anthracene 2DOSC arrays-based OFETs have a small variation of 12.5% in mobility. This strategy can be applied to various organic semiconductors and pattern arrays. These demonstrations will offer more opportunities for 2DOSCs for integrated optoelectronic devices.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Structural Covariance Changes of the Striatum in Lifelong Premature Ejaculation Patients.

BACKGROUND: The striatum has been reported to be implicated in various neurological diseases, including lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE). Altered striatum-related functional connectivity was investigated in LPE patients in previous studies; however, structural abnormalities in the striatum have been less studied in LPE. PURPOSE: To identify the gray matter volume (GMV) and structural covariance patterns of the striatum between LPE patients and healthy controls (HCs). STUDY TYPE: Prospective. SUBJECTS: Forty-three LPE patients and 31 male HCs. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner; T1-weighted imaging using a spoiled gradient recalled echo sequence. ASSESSMENT: Preprocessing of structural MRI data and the striatum-seeded GMV computation were conducted using SPM12. STATISTICAL TESTS: Two sample t-test was used to compare differences in GMV of the striatum between patients and HCs. Regions showing altered between-group GMV were considered as seeds for structural covariance analysis in two groups. Additionally, correlations between GMV findings and clinical features were assessed with age and total intracranial volume (TIV) as covariates and with age, TIV, anxiety, and depression scores as covariates in the patient group, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Compared to HCs, LPE patients had significantly decreased GMV in four regions located in the bilateral caudate and putamen. Distinct striatum-based structural covariance patterns in the two groups were mainly related to the thalamus, amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, middle cingulate cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, and precuneus/cuneus. LPE patients showed that GMV in the bilateral caudate negatively correlated with the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) scores (r = -0.369, r = -0.377, respectively). DATA CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that LPE patients had altered GMV and structural covariance patterns in the striatum compared to HCs. The correlations between abnormal GMV and PEDT were also shown in the present findings. These findings may contribute to enhancing the understanding of the pathophysiology of LPE. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

Altered functional connectivity density in mild cognitive impairment with moxibustion treatment: A resting-state fMRI study.

PURPOSE: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a general neurodegenerative disease. Moxibustion has been shown to have remarkable effect on cognitive improvement, however, less is known about the effect of moxibustion on MCI and its underlying neural mechanism. This study aimed to investigate the ameliorative brain network in MCI after treatments of acupoint-related moxibustion. METHODS: Resting-state functional MRI were derived from 47 MCI patients and 30 healthy controls (HCs). Patients were randomized as Tiaoshen YiZhi (TSYZ, n = 27) and sham (SHAM, n = 20) acupoint moxibustion groups. Functional connectivity density (FCD) method and repeated-measures two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed to ascertain the interaction effects between groups (TSYZ and SHAM) and time (baseline and post-treatment). Abnormal FCD was examined between baseline and post-treatment in TSYZ and SHAM groups, respectively. RESULTS: Compared with HCs, MCI showed altered FCD in the middle frontal cortex (MFC), inferior frontal cortex, temporal pole, thalamus and middle cingulate cortex. After moxibustion treatment in MCI, 1) a significant time-by-groups interaction was observed in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC); 2) abnormal long-range FCD (lrFCD) in the mPFC and MFC were modulated in TSYZ group; 3) significantly improved clinical symptoms; 4) changed lrFCD in the MFC was significantly negatively correlated with the increased Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores in TSYZ group. CONCLUSIONS: These imaging findings suggest that treatments of acupoint-related moxibustion could improve lrFCD in certain regions related to self-related cognitive and decision making. Our study might promote understanding of MCI neural mechanisms and expand the clinical application of moxibustion in MCI.

Smaller volume and altered functional connectivity of the amygdala in patients with lifelong premature ejaculation.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the abnormal amygdala structure and function in lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) patients compared with healthy controls (HCs). METHODS: Forty-four lifelong PE patients and thirty-one HCs were enrolled in this study. Each subject was diagnosed with PE using a Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) and intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) score. Based on t-tests and Pearson correlation analysis, the voxel-based morphometry and functional connectivity (FC) analyses were applied to evaluate brain structural and functional changes by using T1-weighted and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. RESULTS: Lifelong PE patients had decreased gray matter volume in the bilateral amygdala and increased FC between the amygdala and precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and middle temporal cortex (MTC), as well as decreased FC between the amygdala and precentral gyrus, insula, and inferior frontal gyrus. Moreover, significantly negative correlations between the IELT score and the mean z-score from amygdala-MTC (r = -0.49) and amygdala-PCC (r = -0.48) FC were found in lifelong PE patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study investigated the abnormal amygdala-related structure and connectivity patterns in PE patients, which might provide novel perspective for understanding the crucial role of the amygdala in the neural mechanism of PE. KEY POINTS: • As one of the most common diseases in men, PE may be related to abnormal brain mechanisms. • Functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging used to explore amygdala abnormalities in PE patients. • The correlation between clinical scores and functional connectivity was used to assess the reasonability of the results.

Solution-Processed Centimeter-Scale Highly Aligned Organic Crystalline Arrays for High-Performance Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

Solution-printed organic single-crystalline films hold great potential for achieving low-cost manufacturing of large-area and flexible electronics. For practical applications, organic field-effect transistor arrays must exhibit high performance and small device-to-device variation. However, scalable fabrication of highly aligned organic crystalline arrays is rather difficult due to the lack of control over the crystallographic orientation, crystal uniformity, and thickness. Here, a facile solution-printing method to fabricate centimeter-sized highly aligned organic crystalline arrays with a thickness of a few molecular layers is reported. In this study, the solution shearing technique is used to produce large-area, organic highly crystalline thin films. Water-soluble ink is printed on the hydrophobic surface of organic crystalline films, to selectively protect it, followed by etching. It is shown that the addition of a surfactant dramatically changes the fluid drying dynamics and increases the contact line friction of the aqueous solution to the underlying nonwetting organic crystalline film. As a result, centimeter-scale highly aligned organic crystalline arrays are successfully prepared on different substrates. The devices based on organic crystalline arrays show good performance and uniformity. This study demonstrates that solution printing is close to industrial application and also expands its applicability to various printed flexible electronics.