Hippocampal Subregions Volume and Texture for the Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment.

The aim was to examine the diagnostic efficacy of hippocampal subregions volume and texture in differentiating amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from normal aging changes. Ninety MCI subjects and eighty-eight well-matched healthy controls (HCs) were selected. Twelve hippocampal subregions volume and texture features were extracted using Freesurfer and MaZda based on T1 weighted MRI. Then, two-sample t-test and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression were developed to select a subset of the original features. Support vector machine (SVM) was used to perform the classification task and the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the model. The volume features with high discriminative power were mainly located in the bilateral CA1 and CA4, while texture feature were gray-level non-uniformity, run length non-uniformity and fraction. Our model based on hippocampal subregions volume and texture features achieved better classification performance with an AUC of 0.90. The volume and texture of hippocampal subregions can be utilized for the diagnosis of MCI. Moreover, we found that the features that contributed most to the model were mainly textural features, followed by volume. These results may guide future studies using structural scans to classify patients with MCI.

Cs4 Zn5 P6 S18 I2 : the Largest Birefringence in Chalcohalide Achieved by Highly Polarizable Nonlinear Optical Functional Motifs.

Chalcohalides not only keep the balance between the nonlinear optical (NLO) coefficient and wide band gap, but also provide a promising solution to achieve sufficient birefringence for phase-matching ability in NLO crystals. In this study, a novel chalcohalide, Cs4 Zn5 P6 S18 I2 (1) is successfully synthesized, by incorporating the highly electropositive Cs and the large electronegative I element into the zinc thiophosphate. Its 3D open framework features an edge-shared by distorted [ZnS4 ], ethanol-like [P2 S6 ], and unusual [ZnS2 I2 ] polyhedrons, which is inconsistent with the soft-hard-acids-bases theory. Remarkably, compound 1 simultaneously exhibits the large second-harmonic generation (SHG, 1.1×AgGaS2 , @1.3 µm) and a wide band gap (3.75 eV) toward a high laser-induced damage threshold (16.7×AgGaS2 , @1.06 µm), satisfying the rigorous requirements for a prominent infrared NLO material with concurrent SHG intensity (≥0.5×AGS) and band gap (≥3.5 eV). Moreover, to the best of the knowledge, the experimental result shows that phase 1 has the largest birefringence (0.108, @546 nm) in chalcohalide and meets phase-matching behavior demand originating from the polarizable anisotropy of NLO-functional motifs. This finding may provide great opportunities for designing birefringent chalcohalides.

The association between sleep duration and risk of myopia in Chinese school-aged children: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Myopia is one of the most commonly diagnosed refractive disorders worldwide. Identifying risk factors for myopia at an early age may help to characterize children who would benefit most from individualized lifestyle advice and early interventions. The influence of sleep duration on myopia risk remains controversial and thus needs to be evaluated. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study of Chinese school-aged children was conducted. Information on sleep duration was derived. The association between sleep duration and myopia risk was investigated by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Myopia prevalence among 9530 Chinese school-aged children was 75.4% and decreased from 84.9%, 76.5%, 65.8%, to 61.3% along with the extension of sleep duration. Univariate logistic regression found longer sleep duration of 8-9 h (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.51-0.66), 9-10 h (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.30-0.39), and ≥ 10 h (OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.24-0.33) were protective factors for myopia in all participants (P for trend < 0.001). In the multivariate analyses, sleep duration was inversely associated with the risk of myopia, and a dose-effect relationship was observed when the analysis was split by age category. CONCLUSIONS: Long sleep duration was associated with decreased risk of myopia in Chinese school-aged children.

Palladium-Catalyzed Enantio- and Regioselective Ring-Opening Hydrophosphinylation of Methylenecyclopropanes.

Transition metal-catalyzed hydrofunctionalization of methylenecyclopropanes (MCPs) has presented a considerable challenge due to the difficult manipulation of regioselectivity and complicated reaction patterns. Herein, we report a straightforward Pd-catalyzed ring-opening hydrophosphinylation reaction of MCPs via highly selective C-C bond cleavage. This method allows for rapid and efficient access to a wide range of chiral allylic phosphine oxides in good yields and high enantioselectivities. Additionally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to elucidate the reaction mechanism and the origin of enantioselectivity.

Healthy lifestyle and the risk of conventional adenomas and serrated polyps: Findings from a large colonoscopy screening population.

Evidence on the link between healthy lifestyle and colorectal cancer (CRC) precursors is limited. Our study aimed to examine and compare the associations of healthy lifestyle with CRC precursors in adenoma (AD)-carcinoma and serrated pathways. A total of 24 480 participants including 6309 ADs, 1343 serrated polyps (SPs), and 16 828 polyp-free controls were included. A healthy lifestyle score (HLS) was constructed based on five lifestyle factors including cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, diet and body weight, and categorized into least, slightly, moderately and most healthy. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Inverse dose-response associations between the HLS and risk of ADs were observed (OR per 1 score increment for ADs: 0.82 [95% CI 0.79-0.84]; for SPs: 0.73 [95% CI 0.69-0.78]), and the association with SPs was more evident than with ADs (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.85-0.96). Compared to participants with the least healthy lifestyle, those with the most healthy lifestyle had 47% lower risk of ADs (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.47-0.59) and 70% lower risk of SPs (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.23-0.39), respectively. These inverse associations were consistent across lesion stage and anatomic subsite and not modified by any stratification factors. The risk advancement periods for the most vs the least healthy lifestyle were -9.49 years for ADs and -20.69 years for SPs. Our findings help confirm the preventive role of healthy lifestyle in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Promoter hypermethylation of GALR1 acts as an early epigenetic susceptibility event in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Epigenetics play an essential role in colorectal neoplasia process. There is a need to determine the appropriateness of epigenetic biomarkers for early detection as well as expand our understanding of the carcinogenic process. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess how DNA methylation pattern of GALR1 gene evolves in a sample set representing colorectal neoplastic progression. The study was designed into three phases. Firstly, Methylation status of GALR1 was assessed with genome-wide DNA methylation beadchip and pyrosequencing assays in colorectal lesions and paired normal tissues. Then, linear mixed-effects modeling analyses were applied to describe the trend of DNA methylation during the progression of colorectal neoplasia. In the third phase, quantitative RT-PCR was used to examine GALR1 expression in patients with precursor lesion and colorectal cancer. We found that significant hypermethylation of GALR1 promoter was a widely existent modification in CRCs (P < 0.001). When further examined methylation pattern of GALR1 during neoplastic progression of CRC, we found that DNA methylation level of GALR1 showed a significant stepwise increase from normal to hyperplastic polyps, to adenomas and to carcinoma samples (P < 0.001). Besides, loss of mRNA expression is a common accompaniment to adenomas and carcinomas. Public omics data analyses showed an inverse correlation between gene expression and DNA methylation (P < 0.001). Our findings indicate that epigenetic alteration of GALR1 promoter is gradually accumulated during the colorectal neoplastic progression. It can potentially be a promising biomarker used for screening and surveillance of colorectal cancer.

Worldwide trends in cervical cancer incidence and mortality, with predictions for the next 15 years.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is 1 of the most common cancers in females worldwide. Understanding the most recent global patterns and temporal trends of cervical cancer burden might be helpful for its prevention and control. METHODS: Data on cervical cancer (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, code C53) incidence and mortality in 2018 were extracted from the GLOBOCAN 2018 database and further analyzed for their correlations with the Human Development Index. Temporal trends were analyzed using the annual percent change with joinpoint analysis among 31 countries with highly qualified data from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Plus and World Health Organization mortality databases. Future trends for the next 15 years were predicted using an open-source age-period-cohort model. RESULTS: Cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates were both negatively correlated with the Human Development Index (r = -0.56 for incidence, r = -0.69 for mortality; P < .001) in cross-sectional analysis, and both remained stable in 12 countries or even decreased in 14 and 18 countries for incidence and mortality, respectively, during the most recent 10 data years. Similar findings were observed for the next 15 years. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical cancer burden was correlated with socioeconomic development. An overwhelming majority of countries had stable or decreasing trends in incidence and mortality rates, especially in those with effective cervical cancer screening programs and human papillomavirus vaccination. LAY SUMMARY: The authors investigated the most up-to-date data from official databases released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and found that cervical cancer incidence and mortality were negatively correlated with socioeconomic development. Among the 31 countries analyzed, most (26 countries were analyzed for incidence, and 30 were analyzed for mortality) had stable or even decreasing temporal trends over the most recent 10 years, especially in those with effective cervical cancer screening programs. In addition, the predicted trends for the next 15 years were basically consistent with the observed trends among most of the analyzed countries (19 countries for incidence and 26 countries for mortality).

Photoinduced Electron-Transfer (PIET) Strategy for Selective Adsorption of CO2 over C2 H2 in a MOF.

Similarities in sizes, shapes, and physical properties between carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and acetylene (C2 H2 ) make it a great challenge to separate the major impurity CO2 from products in C2 H2 production. The use of porous materials is an appealing path to replace current very costly and energy-consuming technologies, such as solvent extraction and cryogenic distillation; however, high CO2 /C2 H2 uptake ratio with minor adsorption of C2 H2 at standard pressure was only unexpectedly observed in scarce examples in recent years although the related research started early at 1950s, and general design strategies to realize this aim are still absent. This work has successfully developed an efficient PIET strategy and obtained the second highest CO2 /C2 H2 adsorption ratio for porous materials in a proof-of-concept MOF with a photochromism-active bipyridinium zwitterion. An unprecedented photocontrollable gate effect, owing to change of interannular dihedral after photoinduced generation of radical species, was also observed for the first time. These findings will inspire design and synthesis of porous materials for high efficient gas adsorption and separation.

Uncovering a Functional Motif of Nonlinear Optical Materials by In Situ Electron Density and Wavefunction Studies Under Laser Irradiation.

Exploring nonlinear optical (NLO) functional motifs (FM, the structural origin of NLO efficiency) is vital for the rational design of NLO materials. Normal spectrum techniques applied in studying photon exciting materials are invalid for NLO materials, in which electrons are not excited substantially but only distorted under laser. A general strategy of determining NLO FM is proposed by comparative studies of experimental electron density (ED) without and under the laser. The in situ experimental ED and wavefunction of typical NLO material LiB3 O5 (LBO) under dark and 360 and 1064 nm lasers are investigated. Compared with the initial state under dark, the ED of [B3 O5 ]- unit at functional states under laser irradiation exhibits remarkable changes of topological atomic and bond properties, confirming the NLO FM being [B3 O5 ]- . The work extracts for the first time the FM of a NLO material experimentally and highlights the crucial role of in situ ED analysis in studying NLO mechanisms.

Evaluating the predictive value of genetic risk score in colorectal cancer among Chinese Han population.

Increasing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified to be associated with colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to investigate whether genetic risk scores (GRS) that aggregate information from multiple genetic variants can predict the risk of CRC in a Chinese population. Fifty candidate SNPs were selected to explore the associations with CRC in a discovery sample with 1002 CRC cases and 999 healthy controls. We modeled the significant SNPs identified by the case-control study as a multilocus weighted GRS and estimated the association of GRS with CRC. Furthermore, 300 pairs of cases and controls were included as a validation sample to confirm the finding. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to evaluate the predictive power of GRS in CRC. A total of seven SNPs were found to increase the risk of CRC, and two SNPs were found to be negatively associated with CRC in the discovery sample. Relative to participants with the lowest quartile of GRS, those with the highest quartile had a 2.64-fold (95% CI: 1.99-3.51) higher risk for CRC. For every 0.1 point of GRS increase, the risk of CRC increase by 11% (95% CI: 8-14%). AUROC for GRS alone were 0.59 (95% CI: 0.57-0.62) and 0.52 (95% CI: 0.46-0.58) in the discovery and validation sample, respectively. AUROC increased to 0.62 (95% CI: 0.59-0.64) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.65-0.76) by combining environmental risk factors. Our findings support an association between GRS and risk of CRC, which provides evidence of improved prediction model for CRC in China.

Regression-based normative data for social health scale for the elderly (short version) in eastern China.

BACKGROUNDS: Social Health Scale for the Elderly short version (SHSE-S) is a psychometrically sound instrument that comprehensively assesses the social health status of older adults in China. The aim of the present study was to establish continuous normative data of SHSE-S. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study among 31 communities in eastern China. Older adults aged 60 years and above were invited to participate in the study. Each participant was interviewed in-person to finish a structured questionnaire. The SHES-S score was calculated and standardized for each participant. We split the sample into generation and validation datasets and compared the distribution of SHSE-S score between two datasets. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess the SHSE-S score and demographic variables. Regression-based norms were built using a four-step process. RESULTS: A total of 6089 participants (51.2% females) aged 60 years old and above (mean age = 71.3, SD = 8.0) were enrolled as the normative sample. No significant difference was found between the distribution of SHSE-S standardized score in the generation (N = 2392) and validation (N = 3697) datasets. Multivariable linear regression showed that females, higher education levels were positive indicators while aging, living alone, divorced or never married, multimorbidity were negative factors. The regression-based norm which taking demographic factors into account was established and a user-friendly worksheet was also provided to facilitate the scoring and norming of the SHSE-S. CONCLUSIONS: The population-based regression norm of SHSE-S can be a useful tool for assessing the social health status of the Chinese elderly population.

Association between social health status and health-related quality of life among community-dwelling elderly in Zhejiang.

BACKGROUND: Population aging is an inevitable trend and previous studies have showed the relationship between social health related factors and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in the elderly. The objective of this study is to investigate the association of social health status with HR-QOL among community-dwelling elderly in Zhejiang. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was based on community-dwelling elderly individuals from July 2018 to September 2018 in Zhejiang, China. HR-QOL was measured by the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). Social health status was estimated by the long-form of the Social Health Scale for the Elderly (SHSE-L) and classified into three categories (poor, moderate and good). Multivariable linear regression models were conducted to evaluate the association between social health status and HR-QOL (PCS, MCS and SF-12 total score). RESULTS: A total of 2952 elderly participants were included in this study. The mean age was 70.68 ± 7.75 years (mean ± SD); of the eligible participants, more than half (50.4%) were females; the mean scores were 48.10 ± 8.49, 47.70 ± 7.09 and 47.90 ± 5.86 for PCS, MCS and SF-12 total score, separately. Results from the multivariable models showed that social health status was positively related to HR-QOL after adjusting for covariates. Compared with individuals with a poor social health status, those who had a moderate or good social health status were more likely to report better HR-QOL (for moderate social health status: ß = 1.90(95%CI: 1.09, 2.71) for PCS, ß = 1.78(1.08, 2.48) for MCS, ß = 1.84(1.29, 2.39) for SF-12 total score; for good social health status: ß = 3.29(2.24, 4.34) for PCS, ß = 3.10(2.12, 4.01) for MCS, ß = 3.20(2.48, 3.91) for SF-12 total score). CONCLUSION: In our study, we found that social health status was positively associated with HR-QOL among the elderly in Zhejiang. Our findings could provide valuable information for decision-makers to develop interventions to improve the HR-QOL of the elderly.

Diagnostic Value of Quantitative Gray-Scale Analysis of Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography for Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to quantitatively analyze the enhancement of breast lesions by contrast-enhanced spectral mammography to improve the differential diagnosis ability of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography. METHODS: A total of 283 patients with breast lesions admitted from August 2017 to May 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Quantitative analysis of all enhancing lesions was performed to measure the gray values of the lesion region of interest (ROI), the area close to the lesion (ROI1), the area close to the chest wall (ROI2), and the chest wall (ROI3). Differences in gray values between different ROIs of benign and malignant lesions were compared. Taking the pathological results as the criterion standard, we used the receiver operating characteristic curve to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the ROI gray value and relative gray value (rROI) for the lesions. RESULTS: A total of 299 lesions were found in 283 patients, including 101 benign lesions and 198 malignant lesions. The ROI gray value, rROI1, rROI2, and rROI3 of malignant lesions were all significantly greater than those of benign lesions. The areas under the ROC curve of ROI, rROI1, rROI2, and rROI3 gray values of benign and malignant lesions were 0.795, 0.833, 0.812, and 0.741, respectively. The statistically significant difference in the area under the ROC curve was only found between rROI1 and ROI gray value and rROI1 had the greatest diagnostic value. CONCLUSIONS: The gray value of malignant breast lesions was higher than that of benign lesions. The quantitative analysis of the gray value will help in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions.

DFT Studies on Metal-Controlled Regioselective Amination of N-Acylpyrazoles with Azodicarboxylates.

Density functional theory calculations were carried out to study the reaction mechanisms of Ag(I)- and Zn(II)-catalyzed amination of unsaturated N-acylpyrazoles with azodicarboxylates. Our theoretical investigation focused on the origin of the metal-controlled regioselectivity (γ- versus α-amination). Through our calculations, it was found that the amination reactions occur via metal-dienolate intermediates, in which the Ag(I) center prefers to coordinate with the α-carbon or the pyrazolyl N-donor site of the dienolate ligand, while the Zn(II) center prefers to coordinate with the O-donor of the dienolate ligand. The different site preferences for coordination with dienolate between the Ag(I) and Zn(II) metal centers play the key roles in the different regioselectivity observed experimentally.

1,2,3-Diazaborinine: A BN Analogue of Pyridine Obtained by Ring Expansion of a Borole with an Organic Azide.

A new pathway for the ring expansion reaction of antiaromatic boroles with organic azides is reported. While the reaction usually leads to 1,2-azaborinines, it was diverted to the formation of a 1,2,3-diazaborinine by changing the electronic characteristics of the reagents. The isolable azo-azaborinine intermediate initially formed from the reaction of 1-(2,3,4,5-tetraphenylborolyl)ferrocene with 4-azido-N,N-dimethylaniline gradually decomposed to a 1,2,3-diazaborinine and benzonitrile. Both the spectroscopic properties and the reactivity of the heteroaromatic compound show analogies to pyridine, to which it is isoelectronic. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations provided insight into the mechanism of this unusual transformation.

Abnormal Tin-Boron Exchange in the Attempted Synthesis of a Borylated Borole.

Boroles are important motifs within functional materials. With the aim to prepare a pinacolboryl-substituted derivative, the metallacycle transfer from corresponding zirconium and tin precursors has been explored. We show that the reaction of 1,1-dimethyl-2,3,4,5-tetrapinacolborylstannole with dichloro(phenyl)borane does not provide the desired borole, but instead a stannyl-substituted 1-chloroboracyclopent-3-ene. Spectroscopic and structural details of this highly functionalized boracycle indicate that intramolecular interactions between the tin and oxygen atoms of the boryl substituents may account for the unexpected outcome of the tin-boron exchange reaction.

The reactivity of stoichiometric tungsten oxide clusters towards carbon monoxide: the effects of cluster sizes and charge states.

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are employed to investigate the reactivity of tungsten oxide clusters towards carbon monoxide. Extensive structural searches show that all the ground-state structures of (WO3)n(+) (n = 1-4) contain an oxygen radical center with a lengthened W-O bond which is highly active in the oxidation of carbon monoxide. Energy profiles are calculated to determine the reaction mechanisms and evaluate the effect of cluster sizes. The monomer WO3(+) has the highest reactivity among the stoichiometric clusters of different sizes (WO3)n(+) (n = 1-4). The reaction mechanisms for CO with mono-nuclear stoichiometric tungsten oxide clusters with different charges (WO3(-/0/+)) are also studied to clarify the influence of charge states. Our calculated results show that the ability to oxidize CO gets weaker from WO3(+) to WO3(-) as the negative charge accumulates progressively.

PAX6 gene promoter methylation is correlated with myopia in Chinese adolescents: a pilot sutdy.

PURPOSE: A large number of epidemiological studies have shown that myopia is a complex disease involving genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of PAX6 gene methylation in myopia in Chinese adolescents. METHODS: Eighty junior high school students were divided into four groups based on their vision test results: mild myopia, moderate myopia, severe myopia, and non-myopia control. The methylation level of PAX6 gene promoter was detected by bisulfate pyrosequencing. RESULTS: The methylation level of PAX6 gene in myopia group (8.06% ± 1.43%) was slightly but significantly higher than that in non-myopia controls (7.26% ± 1.17%). In addition, PAX6 gene methylation levels presented a decreasing pattern along with the aggravation of myopia. Post-hoc analysis indicated significant inter-group differences for the mild myopia group and other groups (All p < .05). In the subgroup analysis by gender, the methylation level of PAX6 gene promoter in girls was higher than that in boys (p = .023). The ROC curves showed a high accuracy of PAX6 gene methylation to predict mild myopia (AUC (95% CI) = 0.828 (0.709-0.947), p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The methylation of PAX6 gene might play a role in the onset and progression of myopia in Chinese adolescents. And this could potentially explore the potential molecular mechanisms of juvenile myopia in the future.

Probing the electronic properties of W3O(x)(-/0) (x = 0-2) and W3(2-) clusters: the aromaticity of W3 and W3(2-).

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are employed to investigate the structural and electronic properties of bare tritungsten clusters (W3, W3(-), W3(2-)) and tritungsten oxide clusters W3Ox(-/0) (x = 1, 2). Generalized Koopmans' theorem is applied to predict the vertical detachment energies and simulate the photoelectron spectra (PES) for W3Ox(-) (x = 0-2) clusters. Extensive DFT calculations are performed in search of the lowest energy structures for both the anions and the neutrals. The bare tritungsten clusters are predicted to be triangular structures with D3h ((3)A1'), C2v ((2)A1) and D3h ((1)A1') symmetry for W3, W3(-) and W3(2-), respectively. For W3O(-) and W3O clusters, the oxygen atom occupies the terminal site, while the next added oxygen atom is found to be a bridging one in both W3O2(-) and W3O2 clusters. Molecular orbital analyses are carried out to elucidate the chemical bonding of these clusters and provide insights into the sequential oxidation from W3(-) to W3O2(-). Partial σ- and δ-aromaticity are revealed in the neutral W3 (D3h, (3)A1'), while the anion W3(2-) (D3h, (1)A1') possesses only δ-aromaticity.