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Objective: A high-throughput detection method for Cu2+ was developed with a well designed water-soluble fluorescent probe（HWEHH） and the microplate reader. Methods: The specificity of the fluorescent probe for Cu2+ determination was studied with the selectivity experiment. The linear range and detection limit of the probe for Cu2+ determination was detected with titration experiment, and the accuracy of the probe for the detection of Cu2+ in water was studied with sample spiked recovery method. Results: The fluorescent probe was able to specifically detect Cu2+. When the concentration of peptide probe was 2 μmol/L, the linear range of Cu2+ detection was 0~1.5 μmol/L. The linear equation was Y=-1 135.085 7X+2 048.187 6, and the detection limit was 0.036 μmol/L. The binding constant of HWEHH-Cu2+ complex was 1.3×106 mol/L. The linear range of high-throughput detection method was 0~1.5 μmol/L, and the recovery rate was 93.6%~101.9%. Conclusion: HWEHH peptide fluorescent probe can be used for high-throughput detection of Cu2+ in aqueous solution.

The traditional SWCC test method is time-consuming, and it is of great practical significance to develop a method that can quickly determine the SWCC of unsaturated soil. In order to predict the SWCC of compacted loess rapidly, the water potential and moisture content of compacted loess with different dry densities were tested, and the pore size distribution curve was measured using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology. Based on the test results, a rapid prediction method of the soil-water characteristic curve of Yan’an compacted loess was established based on the void ratio, and its accuracy was verified by the measured data. The results show that the fractal dimension D in the prediction model can be determined by the cumulative pore volume of two points (peak point and half-width point) on the pore size distribution curve and the slope of the pore size in a double logarithmic coordinate; and it can be expressed by the void ratio based on the linear relationship between void ratio and dominant pore diameter in logarithmic coordinates. The inlet value of SWCC is controlled by the diameter of macropore; the slope of the transition section is controlled by the volume of mesopore. There is a critical pore size in compacted loess, the residual water content is mainly controlled by the pore volume whose pore size is smaller than the critical pore size, and an empirical method is proposed to calculate the residual volume water content. Compared with traditional methods, the proposed method can save a lot of time in determining SWCC.

Abstract Objective Even though extensive studies have surveyed long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)-related networks in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD), the concrete function of lncRNA H19 (H19) in HIBD is still in ambiguity. Therein, this work intends to decipher H19-related network of microRNA (miR)-140-5p and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in HIBD. Methods Brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) from BALB/c mice were isolated and induced by oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD). OGD-induced BMECs were transfected with depleted or restored H19, miR-140-5p or STAT3, and cell apoptosis, migration and angiogenesis were examined. H19, miR-140-5p and STAT3 expression and their internal connections were tested. Results H19 and STAT3 were overexpressed while miR-140-5p was down-regulated in OGD-induced BMECs. H19 or STAT3 knockdown, or miR-140-5p restoration repressed apoptosis and improved migration and angiogenesis of OGD-induced BMECs. MiR-140-5p restoration negated the impacts of up-regulated H19 on OGD-induced BMECs. H19 bound to miR-140-5p to modulate STAT3 expression. Conclusion The work illustrates that depleting H19 or STAT3 or restoring miR-140-5p attenuates HIBD and supplies a novel perspective for HIBD management.

The direct measurement of unsaturated permeability coefficient is costly and the accuracy cannot be fully guaranteed. Therefore, the establishment of a simple and practical prediction model for saturated/unsaturated permeability coefficient based on Darcy’s law has important theoretical and practical significance. In this paper, a self-made unsaturated permeability device was used to test the unsaturated permeability coefficient of Yan’an compacted loess with different dry densities, and the pore size distribution curve was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance technology. Based on the characteristics of pore distribution, Darcy’s theorem is differentiated, and the relationship model between pore ratio and saturated/unsaturated permeability coefficient is established. The research results show that the parameters (D and B) in the prediction model can be determined by the slope and intercept of the cumulative pore volume at two points (peak point and half-width point) on the pore size distribution curve and the pore size in a straight line in double logarithmic coordinates; the porosity ratio and the dominant pore diameter have a linear relationship in the double logarithmic coordinates, and the model parameters can be expressed by the porosity ratio; the predicted results of the model are basically consistent with the measured values, which suggests that the proposed model is simple, reliable and practical.

ObjectiveUltrasound imaging has been widely used in breast cancer screening. Recently, ultrasound super-resolution imaging (SRI) has shown the capability to break the diffraction limit to display microvasculature. However, the application of SRI on differential diagnosis of breast masses remains unknown. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the feasibility and clinical value of SRI for visualizing microvasculature and differential diagnosis of breast masses.MethodsB mode, color-Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) images of 46 patients were collected respectively. SRI were generated by localizations of each possible contrast signals. Micro-vessel density (MVD) and microvascular flow rate (MFR) were calculated from SRI and time to peak (TTP), peak intensity (PI) and area under the curve (AUC) were obtained by quantitative analysis of CEUS images respectively. Pathological results were considered as the gold standard. Independent chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed using these parameters to examine the correlation.ResultsThe results showed that SRI technique could be successfully applied on breast masses and display microvasculature at a significantly higher resolution than the conventional CDFI and CEUS images. The results showed that the PI, AUC, MVD and MFR of malignant breast masses were significantly higher than those of benign breast masses, while TTP was significantly lower than that of benign breast masses. Among all five parameters, MVD showed the highest positive correlation with the malignancy of breast masses.ConclusionsSRI is able to successfully display the microvasculature of breast masses. Compared with CDFI and CEUS, SRI can provide additional morphological and functional information for breast masses. MVD has a great potential in assisting the differential diagnosis of breast masses as an important imaging marker.

ObjectiveUltrasound imaging provides a fast and safe examination of thyroid nodules. Recently, the introduction of super-resolution imaging technique shows the capability of breaking the Ultrasound diffraction limit in imaging the micro-vessels. The aim of this study was to evaluate its feasibility and value for the differentiation of thyroid nodules.MethodsIn this study, B-mode, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and color Doppler flow imaging examinations were performed on thyroid nodules in 24 patients. Super-resolution imaging was performed to visualize the microvasculature with finer details. Microvascular flow rate (MFR) and micro-vessel density (MVD) within thyroid nodules were computed. The MFR and MVD were used to differentiate the benign and malignant thyroid nodules with pathological results as a gold standard.ResultsSuper-resolution imaging (SRI) technique can be successfully applied on human thyroid nodules to visualize the microvasculature with finer details and obtain the useful clinical information MVD and MFR to help differential diagnosis. The results suggested that the mean value of the MFR within benign thyroid nodule was 16.76 ± 6.82 mm/s whereas that within malignant thyroid was 9.86 ± 4.54 mm/s. The mean value of the MVD within benign thyroid was 0.78 while the value for malignant thyroid region was 0.59. MFR and MVD within the benign thyroid nodules were significantly higher than those within the malignant thyroid nodules respectively (p < 0.01).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the feasibility of ultrasound super-resolution imaging to show micro-vessels of human thyroid nodules via a clinical ultrasound platform. The important imaging markers, such as MVD and MFR, can be derived from SRI to provide more useful clinical information. It has the potential to be a new tool for aiding differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

Objective This study aimed to describe our experience of managing cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) and outcomes depending on ultrasound imaging features. Methods A retrospective, cohort observational study was performed on 31 consecutive patients with CSP at 6 to 9 weeks of gestation from April 2015 to January 2021. All patients were evaluated for the residual myometrial thickness (RMT), growth direction of the gestational sac (GS), blood flow, and chorionic parenchyma using ultrasonography. Patients underwent curettage or methotrexate (MTX) combined with curettage in CSP depending on the age of the GS. Blood loss of >500 mL with curettage was considered major bleeding. Results Twenty-five (80.6%) patients had successful treatment, and six (19.4%) patients had major bleeding. The incidence of major bleeding was significantly higher in patients with >7 weeks of gestation, types II and III CSP, mixed and exogenous types of the growth direction of the GS, an RMT

Abstract. Background. The current deep learning diagnosis of breast masses is mainly reflected by the diagnosis of benign and malignant lesions. In China, breast masses are divided into four categories according to the treatment method: inflammatory masses, adenosis, benign tumors, and malignant tumors. These categorizations are important for guiding clinical treatment. In this study, we aimed to develop a convolutional neural network (CNN) for classification of these four breast mass types using ultrasound (US) images. Methods. Taking breast biopsy or pathological examinations as the reference standard, CNNs were used to establish models for the four-way classification of 3623 breast cancer patients from 13 centers. The patients were randomly divided into training and test groups (n = 1810 vs. n = 1813). Separate models were created for two-dimensional (2D) images only, 2D and color Doppler flow imaging (2D-CDFI), and 2D-CDFI and pulsed wave Doppler (2D-CDFI-PW) images. The performance of these three models was compared using sensitivity, specificity, area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV), positive (LR+) and negative likelihood ratios (LR−), and the performance of the 2D model was further compared between masses of different sizes with above statistical indicators, between images from different hospitals with AUC, and with the performance of 37 radiologists. Results. The accuracies of the 2D, 2D-CDFI, and 2D-CDFI-PW models on the test set were 87.9%, 89.2%, and 88.7%, respectively. The AUCs for classification of benign tumors, malignant tumors, inflammatory masses, and adenosis were 0.90, 0.91, 0.90, and 0.89, respectively (95% confidence intervals [CIs], 0.87–0.91, 0.89–0.92, 0.87–0.91, and 0.86–0.90). The 2D-CDFI model showed better accuracy (89.2%) on the test set than the 2D (87.9%) and 2D-CDFI-PW (88.7%) models. The 2D model showed accuracy of 81.7% on breast masses ≤1 cm and 82.3% on breast masses >1 cm; there was a significant difference between the two groups (P

Background: This study aimed to observe the differences in brain gray matter volume in drug-naive female patients after the first episode of major depression with and without stressful life events (SLEs) before the onset of depression. Methods: Forty-three drug-naive female patients voluntarily participated in the present study after the first major depressive episode. The life event scale was used to evaluate the severity of the impact of SLEs during 6 months before the onset of the major depressive episode. High-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained, and the VBM and SPM8 software process were used to process and analyze the MRI. Results: Compared to that in patients without SLEs, the volume of brain gray matter was lower in the bilateral temporal lobe, right occipital lobe, and right limbic lobe in the SLE group. However, the gray matter volume did not differ significantly between the two groups after the application of false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Conclusions: Although the results of the present study suggest the absence of significant differences in brain gray matter volume between female drug-naive patients after the first episode of major depression with and without SLEs after FDR correction, the study provides useful information for exploring the definitive role of stress in the onset of depression.

Background: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is the most common subtype of SCA worldwide, and runs a slowly progressive and unremitting disease course. There is currently no curable treatment available. Growing evidence has suggested that nerve growth factor (NGF) may have therapeutic effects in neurodegenerative diseases, and possibly also in SCA3. The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of NGF in SCA3 patients. Methods: We performed an open-label prospective study in genetically confirmed adult (>18 years old) SCA3 patients. NGF was administered by intramuscular injection (18 μg once daily) for 28 days consecutively. All the patients were evaluated at baseline and 2 and 4 weeks after treatment using the Chinese version of the scale for assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA). Results: Twenty-one SCA3 patients (10 men and 11 women, mean age 39.14 ± 7.81 years, mean disease duration 4.14 ± 1.90 years, mean CAG repeats number 77.57 ± 2.27) were enrolled. After 28 days of NGF treatment, the mean total SARA score decreased significantly from a baseline of 8.48 ± 2.40 to 6.30 ± 1.87 (P < 0.001). Subsections SARA scores also showed significant improvements in stance (P = 0.003), speech (P = 0.023), finger chase (P = 0.015), fast alternating hand movements (P = 0.009), and heel-shin slide (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Our preliminary data suggest that NGF may be effective in treating patients with SCA3.

Soil is a main component of the terrestrial ecosystem, and soil carbon research is significant in the carbon cycle and global change. Using the geochemical survey data from Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province and the surrounding economic zone multi-target regional, the total carbon and organic carbon from the surface, middle and deep soil in research area was studied and the organic carbon reserves and organic carbon density distribution characteristics analyzed. The results indicate that the overall carbon in the study area consists mainly of organic carbon. The reserve of organic carbon is 138 million tons and organic carbon density is 3512 t/km2 in the surface soil (0-0.2 m), 439 million tons and 11156 t/km2 in the middle soil (0-1.0 m) and 614 hundred million tons and 15617 t/km2 in the deep soil (0-1.8 m). Compared with the national agricultural geological survey data, organic carbon density of surface soil in the study area is 10.86% higher than that of the national agricultural geology survey, however, organic carbon density of middle and deep soil is close to the results of national agricultural geology. It shows that the research area has huge reserves of organic carbon. Further studies were conducted to uncover the distribution and the distribution characteristics of organic carbon in soil by using the organic carbon density and organic carbon reserves for different soil types, different land utilization types, different geomorphic units and different administrative units. Research results suggest that each layers of soil possesses the same organic carbon density spatial distribution characteristics, which is closely related to the geological background and the vegetation coverage. A high value area of carbon density is located in hilly areas and mountainous regions, such as the paleozoic carbonaceous rock and coal strata from the north of Fengcheng City, the south of Gaoan City and the surrounding of Leping City. The highest organic carbon density occurred in the topsoil of Leping city. Low organic carbon density is located in lake and river valley areas. The results of this study provide reliable data for studying the carbon cycle and carbon emissions in the Jiangxi countryside.

Soil is a main component of the terrestrial ecosystem, and soil carbon research is significant in the carbon cycle and global change. Using the geochemical survey data from Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province and the surrounding economic zone multi-target regional, the total carbon and organic carbon from the surface, middle and deep soil in research area was studied and the organic carbon reserves and organic carbon density distribution characteristics analyzed. The results indicate that the overall carbon in the study area consists mainly of organic carbon. The reserve of organic carbon is 138 million tons and organic carbon density is 3512 t/km2 in the surface soil (0-0.2 m), 439 million tons and 11156 t/km2 in the middle soil (0-1.0 m) and 614 hundred million tons and 15617 t/km2 in the deep soil (0-1.8 m). Compared with the national agricultural geological survey data, organic carbon density of surface soil in the study area is 10.86% higher than that of the national agricultural geology survey, however, organic carbon density of middle and deep soil is close to the results of national agricultural geology. It shows that the research area has huge reserves of organic carbon. Further studies were conducted to uncover the distribution and the distribution characteristics of organic carbon in soil by using the organic carbon density and organic carbon reserves for different soil types, different land utilization types, different geomorphic units and different administrative units. Research results suggest that each layers of soil possesses the same organic carbon density spatial distribution characteristics, which is closely related to the geological background and the vegetation coverage. A high value area of carbon density is located in hilly areas and mountainous regions, such as the paleozoic carbonaceous rock and coal strata from the north of Fengcheng City, the south of Gaoan City and the surrounding of Leping City. The highest organic carbon density occurred in the topsoil of Leping city. Low organic carbon density is located in lake and river valley areas. The results of this study provide reliable data for studying the carbon cycle and carbon emissions in the Jiangxi countryside.