Quantification of intratumoral heterogeneity using habitat-based MRI radiomics to identify HER2-positive, -low and -zero breast cancers: a multicenter study.

Background: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-targeted (HER2) therapy with antibody-drug conjugates has proven effective for patients with HER2-low breast cancer. However, intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) poses a great challenge in identifying HER2-low tumors. ITH signatures were developed by quantifying ITH to differentiate HER2-positive, -low and -zero breast cancers.

An ultrasensitive multimodal intracranial pressure biotelemetric system enabled by exceptional point and iontronics.

The accurate monitoring of vital physiological parameters, exemplified by heart rate, respiratory rate, and intracranial pressure (ICP), is of paramount importance, particularly for managing severe cranial injuries. Despite the rapid development of implantable ICP sensing systems over the past decades, they still suffer from, for example, wire connection, low sensitivity, poor resolution, and the inability to monitor multiple variables simultaneously. Here, we propose an ultrasensitive multimodal biotelemetric system that amalgamates an iontronic pressure transducer with exceptional point (EP) operation for the monitoring of ICP signals.

Bidirectional Elastic PTFE Small Diameter Artificial Blood Vessel Grafts and Surface Antithrombotic Functionalized Construction.

Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) failed to achieve clinical application in the field of small-diameter blood vessels due to its lack of elasticity in the circumferential direction and high stiffness. Excellent multidirectional elasticity and dynamic compliance matching with natural blood vessels are important means to solve the problem of acute thrombosis and poor long-term patency. Herein, novel PTFE spinning blood vessels were prepared by the PTFE emulsion electrospinning process, which not only presented good bidirectional elasticity but also promoted the adhesion and proliferation of endothelial cells and induced the contractile expression of SMCs.

CT assessed morphological features can predict higher mitotic index in gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Objectives: To investigate the correlation of the mitotic index (MI) of 1-5 cm gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (gGISTs) with CT-identified morphological and first-order radiomics features, incorporating subgroup analysis based on tumor size.

Methods: We enrolled 344 patients across four institutions, each pathologically diagnosed with 1-5 cm gGISTs and undergoing preoperative contrast-enhanced CT scans. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the independent CT morphological high-risk features of MI.

Adipocyte maturation impacts daunorubicin disposition and metabolism.

Introduction: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common type of childhood leukaemia with effective chemotherapeutic treatment. However, obesity has been associated with higher ALL chemoresistance rates and lower event-free survival rates. The molecular mechanism of how obesity promotes chemotherapy resistance is not well delineated.

Amphiphilic Cationic Carbon Dots for Efficient Delivery of Light-Dependent Herbicide.

The inefficient delivery of herbicides causes unpleasant side effects on the ecological environment. Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)-inhibiting herbicides rely on the presence of external light to exert the activities and thus their performance in the field is extremely susceptible to the light environment. Here, taking acifluorfen (ACI) as a model PPO-inhibiting herbicide to enhance efficacy by boosting the utilization rate of sunlight, amphiphilic cationic CDs (CPC-CDs) from cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) as a precursor, is first prepared as a supplementary light source generator, and subsequently co-assembled with ACI through non-covalent bond interactions to obtain the stable fluorescent nanoparticles (ACI@CPC-CDs).

Conductive/Insulating Bioinks with Multitechnology Compatibility and Adjustable Performance.

Conducting/insulating inks have received significant attention for the fabrication of a wide range of additive manufacturing technology. However, current inks often demonstrate poor biocompatibility and face trade-offs between conductivity and mechanical stiffness under physiological conditions. Here, conductive/insulating bioinks based on two-dimensional materials are proposed.

Fabrication of ionic liquid self-assemblies based on dicamba with improved herbicidal activity and reduced environmental risks.

The off-target loss of pesticide formulations caused by volatilization and leaching has reduced effective utilization and increased risks to the ecological environment and human health. Self-assembly of pesticides has been widely concerned due to the improved bioactivity and environmental compatibility. Herbicidal ionic liquids (HILs) could effectively decrease off-target loss and increase efficacy and environmental safety by improving the physicochemical properties of herbicides.

Carrier-free self-assembled nanoparticles based on prochloraz and fenhexamid for reducing toxicity to aquatic organism.

Nanoformulations of pesticides are an effective way to increase utilization efficiency and alleviate the adverse impacts on the environments caused by conventional pesticide formulations. However, the complex preparation process, high cost, and potential environmental risk of nanocarriers severely restricted practical applications of carrier-based pesticide nanoformulations in agriculture. Herein, carrier-free self-assembled nanoparticles (FHA-PRO NPs) based on fenhexamid (FHA) and prochloraz (PRO) were developed by a facile co-assembly strategy to improve utilization efficiency and reduce toxicity to aquatic organism of pesticides.

Combating infections from drug-resistant bacteria: Unleashing synergistic broad-spectrum antibacterial power with high-entropy MXene/CDs.

The growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics has posed challenges in treating associated bacterial infections, while the development of multi-model antibacterial strategies could efficient sterilization to prevent drug resistance. High-entropy MXene has emerged as a promising candidate for antibacterial synergy with inherent photothermal and photodynamic properties. Herein, a high-entropy nanomaterial of MXene/CDs was synthesized to amplify oxidative stress under near-infrared laser irradiation.

Reduced representative methylome profiling of cell-free DNA for breast cancer detection.

Background: Whole-genome methylation sequencing of cfDNA is not cost-effective for tumor detection. Here, we introduce reduced representative methylome profiling (RRMP), which employs restriction enzyme for depletion of AT-rich sequence to achieve enrichment and deep sequencing of CG-rich sequences.

Methods: We first verified the ability of RRMP to enrich CG-rich sequences using tumor cell genomic DNA and analyzed differential methylation regions between tumor cells and normal whole blood cells.

Microstructured Gel Polymer Electrolyte and an Interdigital Electrode-Based Iontronic Barometric Pressure Sensor with High Resolution over a Broad Range.

We present a novel iontronic barometric pressure sensor based on a gel polymer electrolyte and interdigital electrodes with a much simpler structure than that of existing devices. By introducing high-density microstructures on the gel polymer electrolyte and one side electrode arrangement configuration, the developed sensor offers high performances with an ultrahigh resolution of 10 Pa, an ultrawide barometric pressure-response range from -92 to 7 kPa, a fast response time of ∼15 ms, and excellent long-term stability. The single pressure sensor is able to detect positive and negative barometric pressures without needing any additional means and can operate as a barometric altimeter with a resolution of about one-floor height.

Proximity Effect-Induced Magnetoresistance Enhancement in a FeGeTe/NbSe/FeGeTe Magnetic Tunnel Junction.

The coupling between van der Waals-layered magnetic and superconducting materials holds the possibility of revealing novel physical mechanisms and realizing spintronic devices with new functionalities. Here, we report on the realization and investigation of a maximum ∼17-fold magnetoresistance (MR) enhancement based on a vertical magnetic tunnel junction of FeGeTe (FGT)/NbSe/FGT near the NbSe layer's superconducting critical temperature () of 6.8 K.

Electroacupuncture promotes neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and improves pattern separation in an early Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Background: Impaired pattern separation occurs in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis participates in pattern separation. Here, we investigated whether spatial memory discrimination impairment can be improved by promoting the hippocampal DG granule cell neogenesis-mediated pattern separation in the early stage of AD by electroacupuncture (EA).

Methods: Five familial AD mutations (5 × FAD) mice received EA treatment at Baihui and Shenting points for 4 weeks.

Tunable asymmetric magnetoresistance in an FeGeTe/graphite/FeGeTe lateral spin valve.

van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnetic heterojunctions, characterized by an ultraclean device interface and the absence of lattice matching, have emerged as indispensable and efficient building blocks for future spintronic devices. In this study, we present a seldom observed antisymmetric magnetoresistance (MR) behavior with three distinctive resistance states in a lateral van der Waals (vdW) structure comprising FeGeTe (FGT)/graphite/FGT. In contrast to traditional spin valves governed by the magnetization configurations of ferromagnetic electrodes (FEs), this distinct feature can be attributed to the interaction between FGT and the FGT/graphite interface, which is primarily influenced by the internal spin-momentum locking effect.

A Machine Learning-Based Unenhanced Radiomics Approach to Distinguishing Between Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions Using T2-Weighted and Diffusion-Weighted MRI.

Background: Breast MRI has been recommended as supplemental screening tool to mammography and breast ultrasound of breast cancer by international guidelines, but its long examination time and use of contrast material remains concerning.

Purpose: To develop an unenhanced radiomics model with using non-gadolinium based sequences for detecting breast cancer based on T2-weighted (T2W) and diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI.

Study Type: Retrospective analysis followed by retrospective and prospective cohorts study.

Fabrication of Enzyme-Responsive Prodrug Self-Assembly Based on Fluazinam for Reducing Toxicity to Aquatic Organisms.

Prodrug-based nanodrug delivery systems were drug formulations by covalently conjugating drugs with inversely polar groups via a cleavable bond to self-assemble into nanoparticles for efficient drug delivery. To improve the utilization efficiency of fluazinam (FZN), enzyme-responsive prodrugs were prepared by conjugating FZN with different alkyl aliphatic acids through a nucleophilic substitution reaction and subsequently self-assembled into nanoparticles (FZNP NPs) without using any harmful adjuvant. The obtained FZNP NPs exhibited excellent efficacies against as a result of improved physicochemical properties, including low surface tension, high retention, and enhanced photostability.

Experimental study on the flow structures and dynamics of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in an annular cell.

We conduct an experimental study on the flow structures and dynamics of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in an annular cell with radius ratio η≃0.5 and aspect ratio Γ≃4. The working fluid is water with a Prandtl number of Pr≃5.

A high adhesion co-assembly based on myclobutanil and tannic acid for sustainable plant disease management.

Background: Pesticides are irreplaceable inputs for protecting crops from pests and improving crop yield and quality. Self-assembly nanotechnology is a promising strategy by which to develop novel nano-formulations for pesticides. Nano-formulations improve the effective utilization of pesticides and reduce risks to the environment because of their eco-friendly preparation, high drug loading, and desirable physicochemical properties.

Generating multi-focus beams with a spatial non-uniform coherence structure.

We introduce a class of structured light beams, named multi-focus beams, which exhibit self-focusing at multiple propagation distances. We show that the proposed beams not only have the ability to produce multiple longitudinal focal spots, but also that the number, intensity, and position of the foci can be controlled by adjusting the initial beam parameters. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these beams still exhibit self-focusing in the shadow of an obstacle.