Diagnostic efficacy of the contrast-enhanced ultrasound thyroid imaging reporting and data system classification for benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

Background: The contrasted-enhanced ultrasound thyroid imaging reporting and data system (CEUS TI-RADS) is the first international risk stratification system for thyroid nodules based on conventional ultrasound (US) and CEUS. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of CEUS TI-RADS for benign and malignant thyroid nodules and to assess the related interobserver agreement. Methods: The study recruited 433 patients who underwent thyroid US and CEUS between January 2019 and June 2023 at the Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University. A retrospective analysis of 467 thyroid nodules confirmed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and/or surgery was performed. Further, a CEUS TI-RADS classification was assigned to each thyroid nodule based on the CEUS TI-RADS scoring criteria for the US and CEUS features of the nodule. The nodules were grouped based on their sizes as follows: size ≤1 cm, group A; size >1 and ≤4 cm, group B; and size >4 cm, group C. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze independent risk factors for malignant thyroid nodules. Pathological assessment was the reference standard for establishing the sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), accuracy (ACC), positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of CEUS TI-RADS in diagnosing malignant thyroid nodules. The area under the curve (AUC) in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to compare the diagnostic efficacy of the scoring system in predicting malignancy in three groups of nodules. The intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC) was adopted to assess the interobserver agreement of the CEUS TI-RADS score. Results: Out of the 467 thyroid nodules, 262 were malignant and 205 were benign. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the independent risk factors for malignant thyroid nodules included punctate echogenic foci (P<0.001), taller-than-wide shape (P=0.015), extrathyroidal invasion (P=0.020), irregular margins/lobulation (P=0.036), hypoechoicity on US (P=0.038), and hypoenhancement on CEUS (P<0.001). The AUC for the CEUS TI-RADS in diagnosing malignant thyroid nodules was 0.898 for all nodules, 0.795 for group A, 0.949 for group B, and 0.801 for group C, with the optimal cutoff values of the CEUS TI-RADS being 5 points, 6 points, 5 points, and 5 points, respectively. Among these groups of nodules, group B had the highest AUC, with the SEN, SPE, ACC, PPV, and NPV for diagnosing malignant nodules being 95.9%, 88.1%, 92.8%, 92.6%, and 93.2%, respectively. The ICC of the CEUS TI-RADS classification between senior and junior physicians was 0.862 (P<0.001). Conclusions: In summary, CEUS TI-RADS demonstrated significant efficacy in distinguishing thyroid nodules. Nonetheless, there were variations in its capacity to detect malignant nodules across diverse sizes, and it demonstrate optimal performance in 1- to 4-cm nodules. These findings may serve as important insights for clinical diagnoses.

Study on Optimization of Liquid Fermentation Medium and Antitumor Activity of the Mycelium on Phyllopora lonicerae.

Phylloporia lonicerae is an annual fungus that specifically parasitizes living Lonicera plants, offering significant potential for developing new resource food and medicine. However, wild resources and mycelium production of this fungus is limited, and its anti-tumor active ingredients and mechanisms remain unclear, hampering the development of this fungus. Thus, we optimized the fermentation medium of P. lonicerae and studied the anti-tumor activity of its mycelium. The results indicated that the optimum fermentation medium consisted of 2% sucrose, 0.2% peptone, 0.1% KH2PO4, 0.05% MgSO4·7H2O, 0.16% Lonicera japonica petals, 0.18% P fungal elicitor, and 0.21% L. japonica stem. The biomass reached 7.82 ± 0.41 g/l after 15 days of cultivation in the optimized medium, a 142% increase compared with the potato dextrose broth medium, with a 64% reduction in cultivation time. The intracellular alcohol extract had a higher inhibitory effect on A549 and Eca-109 cells than the intracellular water extract, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration values of 2.42 and 2.92 mg/ml, respectively. Graded extraction of the alcohol extract yielded petroleum ether phase, chloroform phase, ethyl acetate phase, and n-butanol phase. Among them, the petroleum ether phase exhibited a better effect than the positive control, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 113.3 µg/ml. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that petroleum ether components could induce apoptosis of Eca-109 cells, suggesting that this extracted component can be utilized as an anticancer agent in functional foods. This study offers valuable technical support and a theoretical foundation for promoting the comprehensive development and efficient utilization of P. lonicerae.

Ultrahigh-Temperature Long-Persistent Luminescence from B2O3-Confined Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds.

Organic molecules and polymers have recently been intensively explored for afterglow materials owing to their low cost and flexible design. However, they normally fail to generate long-persistent luminescence at elevated temperatures, mostly due to the fast deactivation of triplet excited states. Here, we report that polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) individually confined in a B2O3 crystalloid emit long-persistent luminescence at high temperatures up to 400 °C. This is facilely accomplished by dispersing a series of aromatic derivatives in an aqueous solution of boric acid, followed by drying, melting, and dehydrating. The resulting highly rigid and thermostable B2O3 crystalloid network provides a matched ultrastrong confinement effect and completely restricts the vibration and rotation of the molecularly distributed PACs even at ultrahigh temperatures and thereby prevents the nonradiative dissipation of triplet excitons and promotes the generation of ultrahigh-temperature long-persistent luminescence. The afterglow colors are responsive to both temperature and time, spanning from ultraviolet to near-infrared regions over a wide temperature range, which is substantially modulated by the subtle balance of phosphorescence and thermally activated delayed fluorescence. These features favor the creation of advanced afterglow materials for visual 3D temperature probing, anticounterfeiting, and data encryption in extreme environments.

Establishment and application of a SNP molecular identification system in Grifola frondosa.

Germplasm resources of edible mushrooms are essential for the breeding of varieties with improved traits. Analysis of the genetic diversity of Grifola frondosa germplasm resources and clarification of the genetic relationships among strains can provide valuable information for the selection of breeding parents. A total of 829,488 high-quality SNP loci were screened from 2,125,382 SNPs obtained by sequencing 60 G. frondose. Phylogenetic analysis, PCA, and population structure analysis based on the high-quality SNPs showed that the 60 strains could be divided into five subgroups, and the clustering results were consistent with the geographical distributions of these strains. Based on high-quality SNP loci, a core collection containing 18 representative germplasm resources was constructed, and 1,473 Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR markers were obtained. A total of 722 SNP markers in the exonic regions were screened using KASP-genotyping experiments, and 50 candidate SNP markers and 12 core SNP markers were obtained. Genetic fingerprints of G. frondosa germplasm resources were constructed based on the selected SNP markers; these fingerprints provide an accurate, rapid, convenient, and efficient method for the identification of G. frondosa germplasm resources. The results of this study have important implications for the preservation and utilization of G. frondosa germplasm resources and the identification of varieties.

Lymphocyte-C-reactive protein ratio combined with albumin upon admission predicts coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to explore simple and effective clinical parameters or combinations to predict coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease (KD). DESIGN AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included pediatric patients with KD from January, 2013 to December, 2022. Multiple demographic and clinical data were collected, collated, and calculated from the medical records. Then they were divided into the coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation group or the non-coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation group. Lymphocyte-C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) was transformed into its natural logarithm and expressed as lnLCR. RESULTS: A total of 64 pediatric patients with KD were enrolled in this cohort study after 1:3 propensity score matching (PSM). For each unit increase in lnLCR, the possibility of coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation decreased to 0.419 times the original value. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of lnLCR combined with albumin (ALB), ALB, and lnLCR to classify pediatric patients with KD into the coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation group were 0.781, 0.692, and 0.743, respectively. CONCLUSION: LCR combined with ALB upon admission is a promising predictor of coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation in pediatric patients with KD.

Overexpression of USP22 ameliorates LPS-induced endometrial stromal cells inflammation and modulates cells decidualization by inhibiting ferroptosis.

Endometritis and the failure of decidualization of the endometrium are important factors contributing to the increased incidence of abortion. USP22 is associated with various inflammatory diseases and has been shown to be involved in endometrial decidualization in mice. This study aims to investigate whether USP22 is involved in the regulation of inflammatory response and decidualization in human endometrial stromal cells (hESCs). In this study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to induce inflammation in hESCs, and MPA combined with cAMP was used to induce decidualization of hESCs. USP22 overexpression vector was constructed to study the role of USP22 in endometritis. The results showed that the USP22 protein and mRNA levels were decreased in LPS-induced hESCs. LPS induction increased the levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6, as well as the expression of iNOS and COX2 proteins in hESCs. In the LPS group, the levels of F-actin, PRL, IGFBP1, SLC7A11, and GPX4 proteins decreased, while the levels of lipid peroxidation and total iron content increased. Additionally, the levels of ACSL4 and TFR1 proteins were up-regulated. Overexpression of USP22 reversed LPS-induced cellular inflammation, attenuated decidualization, and inhibited ferroptosis. However, the use of ferroptosis inducers diminished the regulatory effects of USP22 on inflammatory responses and decidualization. In summary, these suggested that USP22 reduces the LPS-induced inflammatory response and regulates the decidualization of hESCs, and possibly involving ferroptosis.

Facile fabrication of recyclable robust noncovalent porous crystals from low-symmetry helicene derivative.

Porous frameworks constructed via noncovalent interactions show wide potential in molecular separation and gas adsorption. However, it remains a major challenge to prepare these materials from low-symmetry molecular building blocks. Herein, we report a facile strategy to fabricate noncovalent porous crystals through modular self-assembly of a low-symmetry helicene racemate. The P and M enantiomers in the racemate first stack into right- and left-handed triangular prisms, respectively, and subsequently the two types of prisms alternatively stack together into a hexagonal network with one-dimensional channels with a diameter of 14.5 Å. Remarkably, the framework reveals high stability upon heating to 275 °C, majorly due to the abundant π-interactions between the complementarily engaged helicene building blocks. Such porous framework can be readily prepared by fast rotary evaporation, and is easy to recycle and repeatedly reform. The refined porous structure and enriched π-conjugation also favor the selective adsorption of a series of small molecules.

Self-management behavior strategy based on behavioral economics in patients with hypertension: a scoping review.

Hypertensive patients often do not make the most favorable choices and behaviors for managing disease. Behavioral economics strategies offer new ideas for guiding patients toward health behavior. The scoping review aimed to summarize behavioral economics strategies designed to improve hypertension self-management behaviors. A literature search was conducted in September 2022 using the following electronic databases: Embase, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wan Fang Database for Chinese Periodicals, and CBM-SinoMed. We screened the literature for experimental studies written in Chinese or English reporting on BE strategies designed to improve self-management behavior in hypertension. We searched 17 820 records and included 18 articles in the final scoping review. We performed qualitative synthesis by the categories of choice architecture. The most common BE strategies were those targeting decision information and decision assistance, such as changing the presentation of information, making information visible, and providing reminders for actions. Most strategies targeted BP, diet, medication adherence, and physical activity behavior. Ten out of 18 studies reported statistically significant improvement in self-management behavior. Further research on BE strategies should focus on addressing the challenges, including changing the decision structure, encompassing a more comprehensive range of target behaviors, and examining the long-term effects of BE strategies.

Self-management of hypertension is a long-term effort, but people often make bounded rational decisions and act in ways that deviate from health goals. Behavioral Economics (BE) strategies make small changes in the decision-making environment to alter choices, steering individuals' behavior consistent with their goals or preferences. We summarized the BE strategies to improve self-management behavior in hypertension and described the study results using the categories of choice architecture. We found that the most widely used BE strategy is changing the presentation of information in the decision-making environment. Most BE strategies positively affect the target behaviors, which have the potential of BE strategies to enhance self-management behavior for hypertension. Further research is needed to identify the origins of these strategies, modify decision-making structures, and incorporate a broader range of health behaviors to showcase the practicality and sustainability of implementing BE strategies.

Four New Species and a New Combination of Boletaceae (Boletales) from Subtropical and Tropical China.

Previous studies have shown that boletes are abundant and diverse in China, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. In the present study, morphological, ecological, host relationship, and a four-locus (28S, tef1, rpb1, and rpb2) molecular phylogenetic analyses were used to study the family Boletaceae in subtropical and tropical China. Four new bluing species are described from three genera, viz. Boletellus verruculosus (Chinese name), Xerocomellus tenuis (Chinese name), Xer. brunneus (Chinese name), and Xerocomus zhangii (Chinese name). Moreover, the genus Nigroboletus is treated as a synonym of Xerocomellus, and a new combination, namely Xer. roseonigrescens (Chinese name), is proposed.

Development of a Health Behavioral Digital Intervention for Patients With Hypertension Based on an Intelligent Health Promotion System and WeChat: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of timely medication, physical activity (PA), a healthy diet, and blood pressure (BP) monitoring for promoting health outcomes and behavioral changes among patients with hypertension is supported by a substantial amount of literature, with "adherence" playing a pivotal role. Nevertheless, there is a lack of consistent evidence regarding whether digital interventions can improve adherence to healthy behaviors among individuals with hypertension. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to develop a health behavioral digital intervention for hypertensive patients (HBDIHP) based on an intelligent health promotion system and WeChat following the behavior change wheel (BCW) theory and digital micro-intervention care (DMIC) model and assess its efficacy in controlling BP and improving healthy behavior adherence. METHODS: A 2-arm, randomized trial design was used. We randomly assigned 68 individuals aged >60 years with hypertension in a 1:1 ratio to either the control or experimental group. The digital intervention was established through the following steps: (1) developing digital health education materials focused on adherence to exercise prescriptions, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), prescribed medication, and monitoring of BP; (2) using the BCW theory to select behavior change techniques; (3) constructing the intervention's logic following the guidelines of the DMIC model; (4) creating an intervention manual including the aforementioned elements. Prior to the experiment, participants underwent physical examinations at the community health service center's intelligent health cabin and received intelligent personalized health recommendations. The experimental group underwent a 12-week behavior intervention via WeChat, while the control group received routine health education and a self-management manual. The primary outcomes included BP and adherence indicators. Data analysis was performed using SPSS, with independent sample t tests, chi-square tests, paired t tests, and McNemar tests. A P value <.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The final analysis included 54 participants with a mean age of 67.24 (SD 4.19) years (n=23 experimental group, n=31 control group). The experimental group had improvements in systolic BP (-7.36 mm Hg, P=.002), exercise time (856.35 metabolic equivalent [MET]-min/week, P<.001), medication adherence (0.56, P=.001), BP monitoring frequency (P=.02), and learning performance (3.23, P<.001). Both groups experienced weight reduction (experimental: 1.2 kg, P=.002; control: 1.11 kg, P=.009) after the intervention. The diet types and quantities for both groups (P<.001) as well as the subendocardial viability ratio (0.16, P=.01) showed significant improvement. However, there were no statistically significant changes in other health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The observations suggest our program may have enhanced specific health outcomes and adherence to health behaviors in older adults with hypertension. However, a longer-term, larger-scale trial is necessary to validate the effectiveness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2200062643; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojEN.html?proj=172782. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/46883.

Genome-Wide and Expression Pattern Analysis of the HIT4 Gene Family Uncovers the Involvement of GHHIT4_4 in Response to Verticillium Wilt in Gossypium hirsutum.

Chromatin remodelers are essential for regulating plant growth, development, and responses to environmental stresses. HIT4 (HEAT-INTOLERANT 4) is a novel stress-induced chromatin remodeling factor that has been less studied in abiotic stress and stress resistance, particularly in cotton. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the members of the HIT4 gene family in Gossypium hirsutum using bioinformatics methods, including phylogenetic relationships, gene organization, transcription profiles, phylogenetic connections, selection pressure, and stress response. A total of 18 HIT4 genes were identified in four cotton species, with six HIT4 gene members in upland cotton. Based on the evolutionary relationships shown in the phylogenetic tree, the 18 HIT4 protein sequences were classified into four distinct subgroups. Furthermore, we conducted chromosome mapping to determine the genomic locations of these genes and visually represented the structural characteristics of HIT4 in G. hirsutum. In addition, we predicted the regulatory elements in HIT4 in G. hirsutum and conducted an analysis of repetitive sequences and gene collinearity among HIT4 in four cotton species. Moreover, we calculated the Ka/Ks ratio for homologous genes to assess the selection pressure acting on HIT4. Using RNA-seq, we explored the expression patterns of HIT4 genes in G. hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense. Through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we found that GHHIT4_4 belonged to the MEblue module, which was mainly enriched in pathways such as DNA replication, phagosome, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, steroid biosynthesis, and starch and sucrose metabolism. This module may regulate the mechanism of upland cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt through DNA replication, phagosome, and various metabolic pathways. In addition, we performed heterologous overexpression of GH_D11G0591 (GHHIT4_4) in tobacco, and the results showed a significant reduction in disease index compared to the wild type, with higher expression levels of disease resistance genes in the transgenic tobacco. After conducting a VIGS (virus-induced gene silencing) experiment in cotton, the results indicated that silencing GHHIT4_4 had a significant impact, the resistance to Verticillium wilt weakened, and the internode length of the plants significantly decreased by 30.7% while the number of true leaves increased by 41.5%. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that GHHIT4_4 mainly enhanced cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt by indirectly regulating the PAL, 4CL, and CHI genes. The subcellular localization results revealed that GHHIT4_4 was predominantly distributed in the mitochondria and nucleus. This study offers preliminary evidence for the involvement of the GHHIT4_4 in cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt and lays the foundation for further research on the disease resistance mechanism of this gene in cotton.

A polydopamine coating enabling the stable cycling of MnO2 cathode materials in aqueous zinc batteries.

MnO2 is a desired cathode candidate for aqueous zinc batteries. However, their cycling stability is seriously limited by active material dissolution, and pre-addition of Mn2+ salts in electrolytes is widely required to shift the dissolution equilibrium. Herein, we synthesize a polydopamine (PDA) coated MnO2 composite material (MnO2/PDA) to realize stable cycling in zinc cells without relying on pre-added Mn2+. The functional groups on PDA exhibit strong coordination ability with the Mn active material. It not only confines dissolved species within the cathode during discharge, but also enhances their deposition back to the cathode during charge to retrieve the active material. Thanks to this effect, the cathode achieves 81.1% capacity retention after 2000 cycles at 1 A g-1 in the 1 M ZnSO4 electrolyte, superior to 37.3% with the regular MnO2 cathode. This work presents an effective strategy to realize the stable cycling of manganese oxide cathode materials in aqueous zinc batteries.

Multimodal ultrasonic manifestations of secretory carcinoma of the breast.

 Secretory carcinoma of the breast (SCB) is a rare and specific type of breast cancer. Owing to its rarity, the number of SCB reports available is limited, with most of them focusing on clinical and pathological characteristics but no reports on its multimodal ultrasound (US) features. Thus, we present a rare case of SCB, retrospectively analyzing manifestations of US and contrast-enhanced US, as well as its pathological basis, aiming to enhance the understanding of US image features of SCB and provide more valuable information for clinical diagnosis. Moreover, the treatment strategy adopted for this patient may serve as a template for future management of SCB.

N-CoFeP/NF electrocatalyst for coupling hydrogen production and oxidation reaction of various alcohols.

Replacing the oxygen evolution reaction with the alcohols oxidation reaction (AOR) in electrolytic water is not only expected to reduce the overall energy consumption, but also realize the green synthesis of high value-added chemicals. However, designing high-activity electrocatalysts toward AOR yet faces a daunting challenge due to the indefinite conversion mechanism of different alcohols. Herein, a self-supported N-CoFeP/NF electrocatalyst on a nickel foam is synthesized via hydrothermal method, followed by low temperature nitriding and phosphating. The N-CoFeP/NF exhibits a fine nanorod nanostructure and high crystallinity. The AOR using N-CoFeP/NF catalysts requires a significantly lower potential (1.38-1.42 V vs. RHE) at 100 mA cm-2, reducing the energy input and the improvement of the overall efficiency. Moreover, alcohols with secondary hydroxyl groups located in the middle of the carbon chain underwent CC bond breakage during oxidation, yielding primarily formic acid (FE = 74 %) and acetic acid (FE = 50 %), which exhibits more attractive performance than alcohols with primary hydroxyl groups located at the end group did not undergo chemical bond breakage at a high current density of 400 mA cm-2. This study provides a novel and effective method to design TMPs and the selection of alcohols for anodic reaction, which can be used as a versatile strategy to improve the performance of anodic AOR coupled hydrogen evolution.

Nitrogen-functionalization of carbon materials for supercapacitor: Combining with nanostructure directly is superior to doping amorphous element.

Just how heteroatomic functionalization enhances electrochemical capacity of carbon materials is a recent and widely studied field in scientific research. However, there is no consensus on whether combining with heteroatom-bearing nanostructures directly or doping amorphous elements is more advantageous. Herein, two kinds of porous carbon nanosheets were prepared from coal tar pitch through anchoring graphitic carbon nitride (PCNs/GCNs-5) or doping amorphous nitrogen element (PCNs/N). The structural characteristics and electrochemical properties of the two PCNs were revealed and compared carefully. It can be found that the amorphous nitrogen of PCNs/N will have a grievous impact on its carbon skeleton network, resulting in reduced stability in charge and discharge process, while the structural collapse of carbon network could be avoided in PCNs/GCNs-5 by the heteroatoms in the form of nanostructure. Particularly, PCNs/GCNs-5 exhibits extremely high specific capacity of 388 F g-1 at 1 A g-1, and splendid the capacitance retention rate of 98% after 10,000 cycles of charge and discharge, which are overmatch than the amorphous nitrogen doped carbon materials reported recently and PCNs/N. The combining strategy with nanostructure will inspire the design of carbon materials towards high-performance supercapacitor.

A low concentration electrolyte additive for constructing solid-electrolyte interphase on a Zn metal anode for aqueous batteries.

Zn metal anodes in aqueous batteries experience inhomogeneous deposition and corrosion issues. Herein, we introduced, at a low concentration, dioxane (DX) as an electrolyte additive to stabilize a Zn anode. The oxygen sites of DX endowed it with a strong affinity for Zn and Zn2+, resulting in its adsorption onto the Zn electrode surface and its coordination with Zn2+ locally. The Zn2+-DX species exhibited a decreased lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy level relative to those of water-involved components. The DX additive not only inhibited side reactions but also generated a stable solid-electrolyte interphase on the Zn electrode, ensuring a uniform Zn deposition. As a result of including the additive, the cycle life of the Zn symmetric cell was extended from 99 h to 2100 h, and the coulombic efficiency in Zn//Cu cell reached 99.5%.

π-Extended Diaza[7]helicenes with Dual Negatively Curved Heptagons: Extensive Synthesis and Spontaneous Resolution into Strippable Homochiral Lamellae with Helical Symmetry.

We report a unique category of π-extended diaza[7]helicenes with double negative curvatures. This is achieved by two-fold regioselective heptagonal cyclization of the oligoarylene-carbazole precursors through either intramolecular C-H arylation or Scholl reaction. The fusion of two heptagonal rings in the helical skeleton dramatically increases the intramolecular strain and forces the two terminal carbazole moieties to stack in a compressed fashion. The presence of the deformable negatively curved heptagonal rings endows the resulting diaza[7]helicenes with dynamic chiral skeletons, aggregation-induced emission feature and relatively low racemization barrier of ca. 25.6 kcal mol-1 . Further π-extension on the carbazole moieties subsequently leads to a more sophisticated C2 -symmetric homochiral triple helicene. Notably, these π-extended diaza[7]helicenes show structure-dependent stacking upon crystallization, switching from heterochiral packing to intra-layer homochiral stacking. Interestingly, the C2 -symmetric triple helicene molecules spontaneously resolve into a homochiral lamellar structure with 31 helix symmetry. Upon ultrasonication in a nonsolvent, the crystals can be readily exfoliated into large-area ultrathin nanosheets with height of ca. 4.4 nm corresponding to two layers of stacked triple helicene molecules and relatively thicker nanosheets constituted by even-numbered molecular lamellae. Moreover, regular hexagonal thin platelets with size larger than 30 µm can be readily fabricated by flash aggregation.

Interface regulation of the Zn anode by using a low concentration electrolyte additive for aqueous Zn batteries.

The Zn metal anode in aqueous Zn batteries faces a number of challenges including instable deposition and corrosion issues. Here, we present an interface environment regulation for a Zn electrode with a low concentration electrolyte additive of 0.1 m 3-aminobenzenesulfonic acid (ASA). ASA prefers to adsorb on the Zn surface over water and creates an ASA-rich interface. It further enters the Zn2+ solvation sheath locally, which shifts the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital from solvated water to ASA. The hydrogen evolution reaction from solvated water reduction is inhibited, and the reduction of solvated ASA generates a stable solid-electrolyte interphase composed of the ion conductor ZnS covered by organic-inorganic mixed components. With the resulting homogenized Zn deposition, continuous Zn stripping in symmetric cells reaches 99.7% depth of discharge (DOD) at a current density of 2 mA cm-2, whereas cell short-circuit takes place at 11.4% DOD in the ASA free ZnSO4 electrolyte. The repeated stripping/plating also realizes 1100 h cycle life at 2 mA cm-2, and a 99.54% stabilized coulombic efficiency is obtained for 500 cycles at 10 mA cm-2.

The discriminatory diagnostic value of multimodal ultrasound combined with blood cell analysis for granulomatous lobular mastitis and invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the discriminatory diagnostic value of multimodal ultrasound(US) combined with blood cell analysis(BCA) for Granulomatous Lobular Mastitis (GLM) and Invasive Ductal Carcinoma(IDC) of the breast. METHODS: A total of 157 breast disease patients were collected and divided into two groups based on postoperative pathological results: the GLM group(57 cases with 57 lesions) and the IDC group(100 cases with 100 lesions). Differences in multimodal ultrasound features and the presence of BCA were compared between the two groups. The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was used to calculate the optimal cutoff values, sensitivity, specificity, 95% confidence interval(CI), and the area under the curve(AUC) for patient age, lesion size, lesion resistive index(RI), and white blood cell(WBC) count in BCA. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, diagnostic accuracy, and AUC were calculated for different diagnostic methods. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences(P <  0.05) observed between GLM and IDC patients in terms of age, breast pain, the factors in Conventional US(lesion size, RI, nipple delineation, solitary/multiple lesions, margin, liquefaction area, growth direction, microcalcifications, posterior echogenicity and abnormal axillary lymph nodes), the factors in CEUS(contrast agent enhancement intensity, enhancement pattern, enhancement range, and crab-like enhancement) and the factors in BCA(white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes). ROC curve analysis results showed that the optimal cutoff values for distinguishing GLM from IDC were 40.5 years for age, 7.15 cm for lesion size, 0.655 for lesion RI, and 10.525*109/L for white blood cells. The diagnostic accuracy of conventional US combined with CEUS(US-CEUS) was the highest(97.45%). The diagnostic performance AUCs for US-CEUS, CEUS, and US were 0.965, 0.921 and 0.832, respectively. CONCLUSION: Multifactorial analysis of multimodal ultrasound features and BCA had high clinical application value in the differential diagnosis of GLM and IDC.

Gene Co-Expression Analysis Reveals the Transcriptome Changes and Hub Genes of Fructan Metabolism in Garlic under Drought Stress.

Drought has become a serious environmental factor that affects the growth and yield of plants. Fructan, as an important storage compound in garlic, plays an important role in drought tolerance. Genomic changes in plants under drought stress clarify the molecular mechanism of plants' responses to stress. Therefore, we used RNA-seq to determine the transcriptomic changes in garlic under drought stress and identified the key module related to fructan metabolism by weighted gene co-expression network analysis. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the garlic transcriptome under drought stress over a time course (0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 d). Drought significantly induces changes in gene expression. The number of specifically expressed genes were 1430 (3 d), 399 (6 d), 313 (9 d), 351 (12 d), and 1882 (15 d), and only 114 genes responded at each time point. The number of upregulated DEGs was higher than the number of downregulated DEGs. Gene ontology and a Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that garlic was more likely to cause changes in carbohydrate metabolism pathways under drought stress. Fructan content measurements showed that drought stress significantly induced fructan accumulation in garlic. To determine whether there were modules involved in the transcriptional regulation of fructan content in garlic, we further analyzed the genes related to fructan metabolism using WGCNA. They were enriched in two modules, with F-box protein and GADPH as hub genes, which are involved in garlic fructan metabolism in response to drought stress. These results provide important insights for the future research and cultivation of drought-tolerant garlic varieties.