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In this study, the adsorption of gases (CH 4 , CO, H 2 , NH 3 , and NO) onto Al 12 Si 12 nanocages was theoretically investigated using density functional theory. For each type of gas molecule, two different adsorption sites above the Al and Si atoms on the cluster surface were explored. We performed geometry optimization on both the pure nanocage and nanocages after gas adsorption and calculated their adsorption energies and electronic properties. The geometric structure of the complexes changed slightly following gas adsorption. We show that these adsorption processes were physical ones and observed that NO adsorbed onto Al 12 Si 12 had the strongest adsorption stability. The E g (energy band gap) value of the Al 12 Si 12 nanocage was 1.38 eV, indicating that it possesses semiconductor properties. The E g values of the complexes formed after gas adsorption were all lower than that of the pure nanocage, with the NH 3 -Si complex showing the greatest decrease in E g . Additionally, the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital were analyzed according to Mulliken charge transfer theory. Interaction with various gases was found to remarkably decrease the E g of the pure nanocage. The electronic properties of the nanocage were strongly affected by interaction with various gases. The E g value of the complexes decreased due to the electron transfer between the gas molecule and the nanocage. The density of states of the gas adsorption complexes were also analyzed, and the results showed that the E g of the complexes decreased due to changes in the 3p orbital of the Si atom. This study theoretically devised novel multifunctional nanostructures through the adsorption of various gases onto pure nanocages, and the findings indicate the promise of these structures for use in electronic devices., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Li, Ma, Li, Xie and Huang.)

Physicians have used palpation as a diagnostic examination to understand the elastic properties of pathology for a long time since they realized that tissue stiffness is closely related to its biological characteristics. US elastography provided new diagnostic information about elasticity comparing with the morphological feathers of traditional US, and thus expanded the scope of the application in clinic. US elastography is now widely used in the field of diagnosis and differential diagnosis of abnormality, evaluating the degree of fibrosis and assessment of treatment response for a range of diseases. The World Federation of Ultrasound Medicine and Biology divided elastographic techniques into strain elastography (SE), transient elastography and acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI). The ARFI techniques can be further classified into point shear wave elastography (SWE), 2D SWE, and 3D SWE techniques. The SE measures the strain, while the shear wave-based techniques (including TE and ARFI techniques) measure the speed of shear waves in tissues. In this review, we discuss the various techniques separately based on their basic principles, clinical applications in various organs, and advantages and limitations and which might be most appropriate given that the majority of doctors have access to only one kind of machine., Competing Interests: None

Objective: To investigate the correlation of contrast-enhanced pattern with expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and microvessel density (MVD) in mice breast cancer., Methods: A total of 22 mice were implanted with breast cancer cells (Ca761) subcutanously in the thigh. The tumors were examined with conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) on days 4,6,7,8,9,10,and 11 after implantation and then sacrificed. Three or four mice were included each time. Expressions of HIF-1α and MVD in cancer tissues were detected immunohistochemically. Correlation of contrast-enhanced patterns with expression of HIF-1α and MVD in breast cancer was analyzed., Results: Mice were divided into 3 groups according to the tumor volume:group 1 (volume<0.05 cm(3),n=5),group 2 (volume 0.05-0.75 cm(3),n=9),and group 3 (volume>0.75 cm(3),n=8). The CEUS pattern was different in different groups:four mice in group 1 presented as type 1 (peripheral ring enhancement with no enhancement within the tumor) and 1 case presented as type 2 (peripheral ring enhancement with deep penetration). Most mice in group 2 presented as type 3 (homogeneous or heterogeneous enhancement in the whole tumor,n=5). In group 3,most mice presented as type 4 (peripheral ring enhancement with focal nodular enhancement within the tumor,n=7). Contrast-enhanced pattern was significantly different in different volume groups (P<0.01). Enhanced pattern (type 1-4) was closely correlated with tumor volume (r=0.841,P<0.05). The expression of HIF-1α was negatively correlated with enhanced patterns (type 1-4) (r=-0.596,P＝0.003),but not with tumor volume (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in MVD values between different enhanced patterns (type 1-4),and there was no correlation between the MVD and tumor volumes (P>0.05)., Conclusion: CEUS can be used as a noninvasive tool to monitor tumor angiogenesis in tumor and the enhanced patterns may reflect the expression of HIF-1α inside the tumor.

Objective: To investigate the clinical value of ultrasonography in predicting massive haemorrhage during Cesarean scar pregnancy., Methods: The clinical and ultrasonograhic data of 119 Cesarean scar pregnancy patients were retrospective analyzed. According to the amount of bleeding, these patients were divided into two groups:massive hemorrhage group and non-massive hemorrhage group. The potential risk factors of massive hemorrhage were analyzed with Logistic regression analysis., Results: The size and type of lesions, flow grade, and residual muscular thickness were screened as the risk factors of massive haemorrhage by Logistic regression model. When P=0.3 was applied as the cutoff value,the diagnostic accuracy was 90.75%;meanwhile,the sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 88.23%, 91.76%, 81.08%, and 95.12%,respectively., Conclusion: Ultrasonography can accurately predict the risk of massive hemorrhage during the Cesarean scar pregnancy.

Annexin A1 (ANXA1) is a kind of endogenous scaffold protein. Previous research showed that ANXA1 could increase markedly with multiple increase of drug resistance in K562/imatinib cell lines in vitro. Here the stable transfection cell strains K562-pEGFP-N1 which was the native control and K562-pEGFP-N1-ANXA1 which can stably express ANXA1 were established using the Lipofectamine 2000 in order to find whether ANXA1 involved in the drug resistance. Cell growth inhibition experiment via MTT and cell proliferation experiment via MTS showed that K562-pEGFP-N1-ANXA1 cell strain was more sensitive to imatinib than the K562-pEGFP-N1 cell strain, and however the ability of proliferation of K562-pEGFP-N1-ANXA1 cell strain did not change compared with the negative control. Western blotting results showed that the expression of proteins in Annexin family did not change; drug resistance proteins, Bcr-Abl/p-Bcr-Abl (Tyr245), Src family kinase for example, did not change; proteins related with cell proliferation and cell cycle, such as ERK1/2MAPK, p-38MAPK, CDK1 and Wee 1, did not change either in the K562-pEGFP-N1-ANXA1 cell strain compared with the negative control. The co-immunoprecipitation result showed that the interaction between ANXA1 and beta-actin in the K562-pEGFP-N1-ANXA1 cell strain increased markedly. The deduction was that ANXA1 may make the K562-pEGFP-N1-ANXA1 cell strain more sensitive to imatinib due to the increased uptake of imatinib via the increase of ANXA1 and the interaction between ANXA1 and beta-actin in the K562-pEGFP-N1-ANXA1 cell strain in vitro.