Interaction among homeodomain transcription factors mediates ethylene biosynthesis during pear fruit ripening.

Fruit ripening is manipulated by the plant phytohormone ethylene in climacteric fruits. While the transcription factors (TFs) involved in ethylene biosynthesis and fruit ripening have been extensively studied in tomato, their identification in pear remains limited. In this study, we identified and characterized a HOMEODOMAIN TF, PbHB.G7.2, through transcriptome analysis. PbHB.G7.2 could directly bind to the promoter of the ethylene biosynthetic gene, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (PbACS1b), thereby enhancing its activity and resulting in increased ethylene production during pear fruit ripening. Yeast-two-hybrid screening revealed that PbHB.G7.2 interacted with PbHB.G1 and PbHB.G2.1. Notably, these interactions disrupted the transcriptional activation of PbHB.G7.2. Interestingly, PbHB.G1 and PbHB.G2.1 also bind to the PbACS1b promoter, albeit different regions from those bound by PbHB.G7.2. Moreover, the regions of PbHB.G1 and PbHB.G2.1 involved in their interaction with PbHB.G7.2 differ from the regions responsible for binding to the PbACS1b promoter. Nonetheless, these interactions also disrupt the transcriptional activation of PbHB.G1 and PbHB.G2.1. These findings offer a new mechanism of ethylene biosynthesis during climacteric fruit ripening.

Bending, Twisting, and Propulsion of Photoreactive Crystals by Controlled Gas Release.

The rapid release of gas by a chemical reaction to generate momentum is one of the most fundamental ways to elicit motion that could be used to sustain and control the motility of objects. We report that hollow crystals of a three-dimensional supramolecular metal complex that releases gas by photolysis can propel themselves or other objects and advance in space when suspended in mother solution. In needle-like regular crystals, the reaction occurs mainly on the surface and results in the formation of cracks that evolve due to internal pressure; the expansion on the cracked surface of the crystal results in bending, twisting, or coiling of the crystal. In hollow crystals, gas accumulates inside their cavities and emanates preferentially from the recess at the crystal terminus, propelling the crystals to undergo directional photomechanical motion through the mother solution. The motility of the object which can be controlled externally to perform work delineates the concept of "crystal microbots", realized by photoreactive organic crystals capable of prolonged directional motion for actuation or delivery. Within the prospects, we envisage the development of a plethora of light-weight, efficient, autonomously operating robots based on organic crystals with high work capacity where motion over large distances can be attained due to the large volume of latent gas generated from a small volume of the crystalline solid.

Gradual Size Enlargement of Aluminum-Oxo Clusters and the Photochromic Properties.

Metallic clusters, assembled by functional motifs, possess the attribute of regulating the properties by changing inorganic and organic components. In this work, a series of aluminum-oxo clusters, [Al6O(dmp)4(Hdmp)2]·2iPrOH [Al6-1, H3dmp = 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid], [Al6(H2thmmg)6]·2DMF·2H2O [Al6-2, H5thmmg = N-tris(hydroxymethyl)methylglycine], [Al8(OH)4(NAP-OH)12(MeO)7(MeOH)]Cl·7MeCN·3MeOH (Al8, HNAP-OH = 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid), and [Al10(NA)10(MeO)20] (Al10, HNA = nicotinic acid), were obtained based on different carboxylic acids, realizing metallic ring size enlargement from 5.91 to 9.32 Å. They all exhibit good chemical stability. Importantly, the Al8 cluster displays obvious photochromic behavior from pale yellow to orange yellow, originating from the generation of photoinduced radicals in the metal-assisted ligand-ligand electron transfer process of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (HNAP-OH). This work enriches the metal ring cluster chemistry and reports the example of the aluminum-oxo cluster-based photochromic material, developing a novel system of photochromic materials.

The involvement of Ein3-binding F-box protein PbrEBF3 in regulating ethylene signaling during Cuiguan pear fruit ripening.

Ein3-binding F-box (EBF) proteins have been determined to modulate ethylene response processes by regulating EIN3/EIL protein degradation in Arabidopsis and tomato. However, the function of pear PbrEBFs in ethylene-dependent responses during fruit ripening remains unclear. In this study, PbrEBF1, PbrEBF2, and PbrEBF3 display contrasting expression patterns in response to ethylene and 1-MCP treatment. PbrEBF3 displayed potential fruit ripening-associated function in a transient expression experiment. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and Firefly luciferase complementation imaging (LCI) assays indicated that PbrEBF3 interacts with PbrEIL1, PbrEIL2, and PbrEIL3 proteins. In turn, the transcription of PbrEBF3 is directly regulated by PbrEILs via a feedback loop. PbrEILs trigger a transcriptional cascade of PbrERF24 and finally affect ethylene synthesis. Overall, PbrEBF3 plays a central role in pear fruit ripening through mediation of the ethylene signaling pathway.

Hybrid Photochromic Lanthanide Phosphonate with Multiple Photoresponsive Functionalities.

Hybrid photochromic materials (HPMs) with specific photoresponsive functionality have applications in many fields. The photoinduced electron-transfer (ET) strategy has been proved to be effective in the synthesis of HPMs with diverse photomodulated properties. The exploitation of new electron acceptors (EAs) is meaningful for promoting the development of HPMs. In this work, we introduced a rigid tetraimidazole derivative, 3,3,5,5-tetra(imidazol-1-yl)-1,1-biphenyl (TIBP) as a potential EA, into a metal-diphosphonate (1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, H4-HEDP) system to explore HPMs and finally obtained a hybrid metal phosphonate (H4-TIBP)0.5·[Dy(H-HEDP) (H2-HEDP)]·H2O (1). 1 features anionic chains composed of diphosphonate and Dy3+ ions. The extra charge is balanced by protonated TIBP cations, which exist in the void of adjacent chains and form H-bonds with Ophosphonate (N-H···O). Upon photostimulation with a Xe lamp (300 W), the crystalline sample 1 exhibited coloration by changing from colorless to pale yellow because of the presence of photoinduced radicals that originated from the ET from Ophosphonate to NTIBP. Along with the coloration, photomodulated fluorescence, magnetism, and proton conductivity were also detected in the photoactivated samples. Different from the reported HPMs based on polypyridine derivatives and photoactive species such as pyridinium and naphthalimide derivatives as EAs, our study provides a new category of EA units to yield HPMs with fascinating photoresponsive functionality via the assembly of polyimidazole derivatives and phosphonate-based supramolecular building blocks.

Single-nucleotide variant of PIK3CA H1047R gene assay by CRISPR/Cas12a combined with rolling circle amplification.

PIK3CA H1047R gene plays an important role in the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, and its mutation is closely related to the occurrence and development of breast cancer and Lipoblastoma. Therefore, it is of great value to detect the PIK3CA H1047R mutant gene. Here, an analytical method coupled CRISPR/Cas12a with rolling circle amplification (RCA) technology was constructed for ultra-sensitive and specific detection of the single-nucleotide variant (SNV) of the PIK3CA H1047R gene. With efficient amplification of RCA and CRISPR/Cas12a, the detection limit of the mutant target and mixture of the mutant with wild-type target were as low as 10 aM and 0.036%, respectively. The detection limit of the RCA-CRISPR/Cas12a method was lower than that of allelic specific PCR (AS-PCR) for detecting SNV of the PIK3CA H1047R gene. Hence, this RCA-CRISPR/Cas12a method is sensitive and specific for the detection of SNV. What's more, this strategy provides a new idea for medical diagnosis and lays a technical foundation for the research of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways.

Conjugated-Polypyridine-Derivative-Derived Semiconductive Iodoplumbates with Tunable Architectures and Efficient Visible-Light-Induced Photocatalytic Property.

By mediation of the pH values, three novel inorganic-organic iodoplumbate hybrids, [Me3TPT][Pb3I9] [1; Me3TPT = trimethyl-2,4,6-tris(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine], [Me3TPT]2[Pb9I24] (2), and [Me3TPT]2[Pb19I44] (3), have been achieved under solvothermal conditions. The large conjugated in situ N-alkylation polypyridine derivatives act as structure-directing agents and electron acceptors, making the materials feature adjustable structural variations with 0D, 1D, and 2D structures and a potential semiconductive performance with narrow energy gaps (1.72, 1.80, and 1.78 eV for 1-3, respectively), which result in their efficient photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. Theoretical calculation reveals that the conjugated organic moieties greatly contribute to the conduction band, leading to narrow band gaps. It is expected that the work will contribute to the exploitation of novel semiconducting halometallates by employing conjugated organic species as structure-directing agents.

The Tri(imidazole)-Derivative Moiety: A New Category of Electron Acceptors for the Design of Crystalline Hybrid Photochromic Materials.

The intermarriage of neutral and tripodal imidazole ligand, tris(4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl)amine (TIPA), with zinc phosphite yields two hybrid phosphites, [Zn2 (HPO3 )2 (TIPA)]⋅2 H2 O (1) and [Zn3 (HPO3 )3 (TIPA)]⋅6 H2 O (2). Compound 1 has a hybrid sheet with neutral zinc-phosphite chains as supramolecular building blocks (SBBs), whereas 2 exhibits a 3D hybrid architecture with other neutral zincophosphite chains as supramolecular building blocks. The structural discrepancy between 1 and 2 is mainly due to the distinct linkage modes between organic TIPA ligands and inorganic zincophosphite chains. Interestingly, compounds 1 and 2 feature fast photochromism in response to UV light irradiation under ambient conditions. The discrepancy of photochromic performance between 1 and 2 is mainly due to the different geometrical configuration of the TIPA ligand. Different to majority of reported hybrid photochromic compounds driven by photochromic active units, the photochromism in 1 and 2 is derived from the electron transfer (ET) between phosphite and non-photochromic triimidazole-derivative ligand TIPA. Compared with the widely explored nonphotochromic polypyridine-derivative as electron acceptors (EAs), our work provides a new EA model for the design of hybrid photochromic materials based on the ligand-to-ligand ET mechanism. A multiple anti-counterfeiting application based on 1 and 2 was investigated.

Coordinate bond- and hydrogen bond-assisted electron transfer strategy towards the generation of photochromic metal phosphites.

Grafting conjugated dipyridine derivatives, BPB (1,4-bis(pyrid-4-yl)benzene) and BPBP (4,4'-di(pyridin-4-yl)-1,1'-biphenyl), to a metal phosphite system yields two hybrid zincophosphites [Zn2(HPO3)2(BPB)]·0.5DMF (1, DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) and [H2BPBP]3·[Zn5Cl8(HPO3)4]·2H2O (2). 1 shows a hybrid layer with the inorganic zincophosphite chains as building blocks. 2 shows isolated pentanuclear Zn clusters in which four phosphite moieties as a bridging ligand, together with eight chloride ions as terminal ligands, bond with five Zn ions to produce anionic inorganic clusters. The negative charge was compensated by the protonated dipyridine derivative species, which was located in the intercluster voids and interplays with the adjacent clusters via N-HO-P hydrogen bonds. Interestingly, 1 and 2 show photochromism driven by the coordinate bond- and hydrogen bond-assisted electron transfer (ET) under the stimulus of Xe lamp irradiation in ambient conditions. Although 1 and 2 had similar constituents in terms of electron donors (EDs) and electron acceptors (EAs), they exhibited distinct photochromic mechanism with ligand-to-ligand ET (LLET) for 1 and proton-coupled ET (PCET) for 2. Unlike the majority of previous hybrid photochromic materials supported by photo-responsive species, the photochromism in 1 and 2 was based on the ET between phosphite and non-photochromic dipyridine derivative units. Our work provides a general strategy towards the design of photochromic hybrid phosphites by integrating conjugated dipyridine- or polypyridine derivative units with metal phosphites.

A 3D Iodoplumbate Semiconducting Open Framework with Visible-light-induced Photocatalytic Performance.

Employing in situ N-alkylation of the conjugated compound 9,10-bis(4-pyridyl)anthracene (bpanth) as structure-directing agent, a 3D inorganic-organic hybrid iodoplumbate, [Me2 (bpanth)][Pb4 I10 ] (1), was solvothermally prepared. The in situ N-alkylation of bpanth with alcohols was investigated. 1 features a novel 3D open framework based on an interesting Pb6 I24 cluster. UV/Vis spectroscopy analyses indicate that 1 is a potential semiconductor material with a narrow energy gap of 2.06 eV. It exhibits good catalytic activity in the visible-light-drived degradation of an organic dye. This work further illustrates that introducing conjugated organic molecules as templates is conducive to achieving semiconducting hybrid halometallates with narrow band gaps.

PD-1-expressing B cells suppress CD4+ and CD8+ T cells via PD-1/PD-L1-dependent pathway.

B cell-mediated regulatory function is instrumental to the maintenance of tolerance, but may also contribute to immune dysfunction during infectious diseases and malignancies. In this study, we investigated a subset of B cells characterized by PD-1 expression. Data showed that these PD-1+ B cells were rare in peripheral blood, but were significantly upregulated in differentiated thyroid tumors. The PD-1+ B cells also expressed significantly higher level of PD-L1. Continuous, but not short-term, anti-Ig/CD40 L stimulation could upregulate the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 in B cells. In in vitro experiments, PD-1+ B cells significantly suppressed the proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and reduced their viability upon CD3/CD28 stimulation, thus suggesting that these PD-1+ B cells presented regulatory functions. However, unlike other IL-10-secreting Breg cell subsets, the PD-1+ B cells did not express high level of IL-10. Instead, it seemed that PD-L1 was instrumental to the suppressive effects mediated by PD-1+ B cells, since the blockade of PD-L1 significantly increased the proliferation and viability of T cells in the coculture. Interestingly, compared to untreated patients with differentiated thyroid tumor, the thyroidectomy and 131I-treated patients presented significantly lower frequencies of PD-1+ B cells. Together, our investigation demonstrated that the PD-1+ B cells possessed regulatory capacity toward T cell responses, and although rare in peripheral blood, they were significantly enriched in thyroid tumors.

IL-10-producing B cells in differentiated thyroid cancer suppress the effector function of T cells but improve their survival upon activation.

Despite having favorable prognosis, patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) still suffer from reduced lifespan due to recurrences, metastasis, and dedifferentiation. Regulatory B (Breg) cells are essential to the maintenance of peripheral tolerance, but upregulated Breg response may impede the clearance of pathogens and tumor cells. Here, we found that in PBMCs, the frequency of IL-10+ circulating B cells ex vivo and following stimulation was similar between DTC patients and healthy controls. However, in resected tumor, the frequency of IL-10+ B cells was significantly elevated and was positively correlated with the frequency of tumor-infiltrating CD4+Foxp3+ T cells. The quantity of IL-10 produced by B cells was significantly higher in DTC patients than in controls. Moreover, each IL-10-producing B cell in DTC patients produced more IL-10 than the counterparts in healthy controls. This IL-10+ subset was enriched in the CD27+ fraction. Under an in vitro setting, CD27+ B cells inhibited IFN-γ expression from CD4+ T cells and IFN-γ, perforin, and granzyme B expression from CD8+ T cells. Suppression of IL-10 could rescue IFN-γ production but was unable to completely rescue perforin and granzyme B expression. The proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, on the other hand, was not affected by CD27+ B cells. Interestingly, CD27+ B cells improved the survival of activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, in an IL-10-dependent manner. In addition, the phosphorylation level of STAT3 and Erk was examined in CD27+ B cells. Unstimulated CD27+ B cells presented low STAT3 and Erk phosphorylation in both healthy controls and DTC patients, with no significant difference between the two groups. Overall, this study suggests that B cell-mediated IL-10 production can exert complex effects toward autologous T cells.

The efficacy of 99mTc-MIBI imaging in 125I seed implantation treatment of rabbit VX2 transplanted liver cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of 99mTc-MIBI imaging in the evaluation of 125I radioactive particle implantation for treatment of rabbit VX2 transplanted liver cancer. METHODS: Twelve New Zealand white rabbit VX2 liver cancer models were successfully prepared by tumor cell suspension method and randomly divided into a control group and treatment group. The treatment group received 125I particle implantation according to the TPS plan, and the control group received the same number of hollow particle implantation. 99mTc-MIBI imaging was performed before and 7 d, 14 d, and 28 d after implantation. The target lesion (target, T) and normal liver tissue (nontarget, N) were determined by region of interest (ROI) technique. Radioactivity count was used to calculate the 99mTc-MIBI uptake ratio (target-to-nontarget ratio, T/N) between the target lesion and normal liver tissue, thereby obtaining early ratio (ER) and delayed ratio (DR), respectively. The retention index (RI) was calculated. The mice were sacrificed after 28 days for histopathologic observation. RESULTS: The T/N ratio, ER, and DR showed no statistical changes following the implantation time in the control group. In the treatment group, ER and DR gradually decreased after implantation of 125I seeds (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in RI during different observation times between the treatment group and the control group. Compared with the treatment group, RI exhibited no statistical difference between before and 7 d, 7~14 d, and 14~28 d after implantation (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This method has value in evaluating the efficacy of 125I seed implantation treatment of rabbit VX2 transplanted liver cancer. The T/N ratio is independent of the tumor diameter, but is related to the blood perfusion and metabolic state of the tumor. Implantation of 125I particles into the rabbit transplanted liver cancer can effectively inhibit tumor growth, thus is a safe and effective method.

Tripyridine-Derivative-Derived Semiconducting Iodo-Argentate/Cuprate Hybrids with Excellent Visible-Light-Induced Photocatalytic Performance.

Through regulating the pH values, a series of iodo-argentate/cuprate hybrids, [Me3 (4-TPT)]4 [Ag6 I18 ] (1, Me3 (4-TPT)=N,N',N''-trimethyl-2,4,6-tris(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine), [Me3 (4-TPT)][M5 I8 ] (M=Ag/2, Cu/2 a), [Me3 (3-TPT)][M5 I8 ] (Me3 (3-TPT)=N,N',N''-trimethyl-2,4,6-tris(3-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine, M=Ag/3, Cu/4), which exhibit adjustable structural variations with different dimensional structures, have been obtained under solvothermal conditions. They are directed by two types of in situ N-alkylation TPT-derivatives (Me3 (4-TPT) for 1/2/2 a and Me3 (3-TPT) for 3/4) and represent the isolated units (1), 1D polymeric chain (4), 2D layered structures (2/2 a, 3) based on diverse metal iodide clusters. These compounds possess reducing band gaps as compared with the bulk ß-AgI and CuI and belong to potential semiconductor materials. Iodocuprates feature highly efficient photocatalytic activity in the sunlight-induced degradation of organic dyes. The detailed study on the possible photocatalytic mechanism, including radical trapping tests and theoretical calculations, reveals that the N-alkylation TPT moieties contribute to the narrow semiconducting behavior and effectively inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, which result in an excellent visible-light-induced photocatalytic performance.

A HD-ZIP II HOMEBOX transcription factor, PpHB.G7, mediates ethylene biosynthesis during fruit ripening in peach.

Homeobox transcription factors belong to a superfamily that has been widely studied in plant growth and development, but little is known regarding their role in fruit development and ripening. Using a genome-wide expression analysis of homeobox (HB) genes and quantitative real-time PCR, a HD-ZIP II member, PpHB.G7, which presented higher levels of expression in ripening fruits than in developing fruits in all of the tested cultivars, was isolated from peach. Transient transformations showed that PpHB.G7 affects ethylene production and the expression of ethylene biosynthesis genes (PpACS1 and PpACO1). Both dual-luciferase and yeast one-hybrid assays confirmed that PpHB.G7 interacts with the promoters of PpACS1 and PpACO1. Thus, PpHB.G7 mediates ethylene biosynthesis by stimulating PpACS1 and PpACO1 activities. Furthermore, we also found that the other eight HB genes were differentially expressed in the developing fruits, with seven of these genes belonging to the HD-ZIP family. These results suggest that the HB genes in the HD-ZIP family play important roles in fruit development and ripening.

Transcriptome analysis unravels an ethylene response factor involved in regulating fruit ripening in pear.

Ethylene response factor (ERF) has been widely studied in regulating fruit ripening in tomato, apple, banana and kiwifruit, but little is known in pear. In this study 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatment, an inhibitor of ethylene perception, was conducted at approximately 30 days before harvest to delay fruit ripening in a climacteric white pear cultivar Yali. Transcriptome libraries were constructed and sequenced in pre-ripening, ripening, and 1-MCP treated fruits. Data analysis showed that 73 candidate genes related to fruit ripening were induced by 1-MCP, among which two were positively related, namely 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxyla oxidase and an ERF gene (designated as ACO54 and ERF24). Transient transformations in pear fruit revealed that over-expression of ACO54 enhance transcription level of ERF24 and most ripening-related genes. Meanwhile, over-expression of ERF24 raises expression level of ACO54 and partially ripening-related genes. Moreover, dual-luciferase and yeast-one-hybrid assays unravel an interaction between ERF24 and the ACO54 promoter. Therefore, the ERF24 could directly regulate ACO54 expression by binding to its promoter. These results suggested that the first identified ERF24 is involved in regulating fruit ripening in Chinese white pear.

In Situ Ligand Modification Strategy for the Construction of One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Heterometallic Iodides.

Three heterometallic iodides featuring the novel in situ modified ligands N,N',N″-trimethyl-2,4,6-tris(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (Me3tpt3+), N,N'-dimethyl-2,4,6-tris(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (Me2tpt2+), and N-monomethyl-2,4,6-tris(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (Metpt+), [Pb3CuI10(Me3tpt)] (1), [Pb5Cu2I16(Me2tpt)2] (2), and [Pb3Cu6I14(Metpt)2] (3), were synthesized. Compound 1 exhibits a chain structure, in which the Pb4I16 units are connected by the CuI3 units. The negative charge of the resulting chain is balanced by the cationic Me3tpt3+ groups. 2 features a layer structure, in which the Pb-I chains are connected by the dimeric Cu2 units. The anionic layer is decorated by the Me2tpt2+ motifs via coordinating to the intralayer Cu(I) ions. 3 displays a 3D framework structure, in which the inorganic layer with an 18-membered ring is composed of the strictly alternating arrangements of trimeric Pb3 units and hexameric Cu6 units. The adjacent inorganic layer is further connected by a Metpt+ linker to form the final 3D hybrid framework. It is notable that the in situ N-methylation reaction for tpt has taken place and the resultant motif (Me3tpt3+ for 1, Me2tpt2+ for 2, and Metpt+ for 3) is captured within the corresponding structure. More importantly, the structural diversities from low-dimensional chain and layer to high-dimensional framework is accomplished via the (partial) N-methylation of tripyridine motifs in the heterometallic iodide systems. Our studies offer a new coordination mode of tripyridine motif (N-coordination together with N-methylation) and provide a general strategy to integrate the polypyridine motifs and heterometallic halide systems to generate intriguing hybrid structure and investigate the potential structure-related properties. The UV-vis spectra show that the band gaps for 1-3 are 1.48, 1.35, and 1.34 eV, respectively. Their thermal stabilities have also been studied.

A porous copper-organic framework with intersecting channels and gas adsorption properties.

A solvothermal reaction of CuI with a bifunctional organic ligand 3,5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (H2pdc) afforded a novel heterovalent copper-organic framework, [(CuI2)Cu(pdc)4(H2O)4]·4DMSO (1) (DMSO = dimethyl sulfoxide). Compound 1 was structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses and further characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), elemental analyses and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). Structural analysis indicates that two kinds of common secondary building units (SBUs) coexist in this 3D network. The linkage of Cu+ and I- generates [CuI2] subunits and the connection of Cu2+ with carboxyl-O atoms gives rise to binuclear paddle-wheel [Cu(COO)4(H2O)2] moieties. In compound 1, two different SBUs are bridged with pdc2- ligands to construct a micro-sized cage with an internal spherical cavity. Through a cage-to-cage connection, the 3D porous framework is formed which features intersecting 1D channels. Gas sorption measurements were conducted on the activated 1, showing a H2 uptake of 1.46 wt% at 77 K and under 1 bar with a high initial adsorption enthalpy of 8.2 kJ mol-1. Moreover, compound 1 has excellent adsorption selectivity for CO2 over N2 and CH4.

Application values of 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile imaging for differentiating benign and malignant thymic masses.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the application value of 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) imaging to differentiate between benign and malignant thymic masses. A total of 32 patients with space-occupying mediastinal masses were enrolled and early and delayed-phase images were collected following injection with the imaging agent. The tumor to background ratio (T/N) values at the different phases were also recorded. The sensitivity of the qualitative analysis to distinguish between benign and malignant thymic masses was 95.24%, with specificity as 90.91%. The T/N values in the early and delayed phases were not significantly different in the group with benign thymic masses, but demonstrated statistical significant differences in the groups with low- and intermediate-grade malignant thymic masses. The T/N values at the above early and delayed phase were significantly different between the benign and low-grade malignancy groups, as well as between low- and moderate-grade malignancy groups. Those between the benign and moderate-grade malignancy groups demonstrated no significant difference. 99mTc-MIBI imaging was able to differentiate between benign and malignant thymic masses, and the simultaneous semi-quantitative analysis of the T/N values of the tumors may be able to initially determine the degree of malignancy of thymoma.