Quantitative volumetric analysis of primary glioblastoma multiforme on MRI and 11C-methionine PET: initial study on five patients

To investigate the discrepancy between 11C-methionine (MET) positron emission tomography (PET) and MRI results in primary glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) through three-dimensional (3D) volumetric analysis, we retrospectively analysed patients with primary GBM who underwent preoperative 3D MRI and MET PET and were operated between June 2016 and January 2017. Tumour delineation and volumetric analysis were conducted using MRIcron software. Tumour volumes defined by MRI (VMRI) were manually drawn slice by slice in axial and sagittal or coronal images of enhanced T1 sequence, while metabolic tumour volumes were automatically segmented in MET PET (VMET) based on three (frontal, occipital and temporal) 3D reference volumes of interest (VOI). Discrepancies were evaluated in terms of both absolute volume and percentage on the combined images. MET PET contours contained and extended beyond MRI contours in all five patients; in a subset of cases, MET PET contours extended to the contralateral hemisphere. The discrepancy between MET uptake and MRI results was 27.67 cm3 (4.20–51.20 cm3), i.e. approximately 39.0% (17.4–64.3%) of the metabolic tumour volume was located outside the volumes of the Gd-enhanced area. Metabolic tumour volume is substantially underestimated by Gd-enhanced area in patients with primary GBM. Quantitative volumetric information derived from MET uptake is useful in defining tumour targets and designing individualised therapy strategies in primary GBM

High-throughput Sequencing Analysis of Diversity and Spatial Heterogeneity of Fungal Community in Pit Muds of Different Ages for Baijiu Production

The fungal community structure, the relationship between fungal flora and physicochemical factors, and the prediction of fungal function in pit muds from different spatial positions of 10- and 50-year-old cellars at Jinhui liquor Co. Ltd. were studied by using Illumina NovaSeq high-throughput sequencing, redundancy analysis and Fungi Functional Guild (FUNGuild). The results showed that the fungal diversity and richness of the 10-year-old pit mud decreased with increasing depth; the fungal diversity of the 50-year-old pit mud showed an overall increasing trend, while the fungal richness initially decrease and then increased. Moreover, for the 10-year-old pit, the fungal diversity and richness of the upper layer of the pit wall were significantly higher than those of the other positions (P < 0.05), while for the 50-year-old cellar, the fungal diversity and richness of the bottom layer were significantly higher than those of the other locations (P < 0.05). The fungal diversity and richness were significantly higher in the wall of the 10-year-old cellar than the 50-year-old cellar (P < 0.05), but were significantly higher in the bottom of the 50-year-old cellar than the 10-year-old cellar (P < 0.05). A total of 21 fungal phyla and 520 genera were detected in all pit mud samples, the relative abundance of four dominant phyla (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota and Rozellomycota) and most dominant genera such as Aspergillus and Kazachstania showed significant changes among pit ages and spatial locations (P < 0.05). Fusarium, Aspergillus, Saccharomyces and Monascus were positively correlated with the contents of water, humus, K+ and Ca2+, while Cladosporium and Vishniacozyma were positively correlated with pH. Seven nutritional modes of fungi were observed, mainly including saprophytic and pathological-saprophytic-symbiotic nutritional modes, and four single and seven mixed functional groups were determined. This study provides a theoretical basis for clarifying the structure and spatial distribution of fungal community in Jinhui Baijiu pit mud

Deformation behavior and microstructural evolution of pure Ti produced by hot compressing

As a component layer of layered composites, pure Ti renders the advantages of high specific strength, low density, low elastic modulus, high-temperature corrosion resistance and excellent biocompatibility. Accordingly, it has broad application prospects in the field of layered composites. In order to study the hot deformation behavior and microstructural evolution of pure Ti during roll bonding processing, hot compression tests were carried out at temperatures of 550–700 °C and strain rates of 0.01–10 s−1 with a true strain of 0.91 on the Gleeble-3500 thermal simulation machine. Arrhenius constitutive model was used to predict the flow behavior of pure Ti, and the correlation coefficient between the experimental and predicted values reached 0.92313. Based on the hot processing maps, it was found that the peak efficiency of power dissipation (η) region occurs at 650–700 °C/0.01–0.02 s−1. At a strain of 0.9, the optimal processing region is found to be 650–680 °C/0.01–0.015 s−1 with the power dissipation value about 0.59–0.62. At high temperature/low strain rate (650 °C/0.01 s−1), the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) phenomenon is obvious in pure Ti. With the increase of strain rate or the decrease of temperature, the discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) nucleates at the original grain boundary in the form of grain boundary bow out, and gradually grows by consuming the original deformed grains, forming a typical “necklace” structure

Effect of Al2O3 particle content on microstructure and mechanical properties of 1060Al/Al–Al2O3 composites fabricated by cold spraying and accumulative roll bonding

1060Al/Al–Al2O3 laminated particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (LPRAMCs) were successfully prepared using a combination of cold spraying (CS) and accumulative roll bonding (ARB) techniques, exhibiting a synergistic improvement in strength and plasticity. The effects of Al2O3 particle content on the microstructure, tensile properties and fracture morphology of LPRAMCs were studied. The results showed that compared with the 1# composites with higher Al2O3 particle content (20.1 vol%), the 2# composites with lower Al2O3 particle content (8.4 vol%) exhibited delayed necking fracture during the ARB process, with greater elongation (El) but lower ultimate tensile strength (UTS). After 5 passes of ARB, the UTS and El of the 1# and 2# composites were 345 MPa, 16.1%, and 293 MPa, 22.2%, respectively. This suggests that the mechanical properties of the Al–Al2O3 deposited layer have a significant impact on the mechanical properties of LPRAMCs. With an increase in ARB passes, the fracture mode of the LPRAMCs shifted from brittle to ductile fracture, displayed by equiaxed and shear dimples. These findings can provide novel insights and theoretical foundations for optimizing the mechanical properties of Al matrix composites

The value of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging for detecting epileptogenic zones in patients with focal epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE:To determine the value of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) based on the local analysis methods regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and fractional ALFF (fALFF), for detecting epileptogenic zones (EZs). METHODS:A total of 42 consecutive patients with focal epilepsy were enrolled. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of visually assessed RS-fMRI, MRI, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), video electroencephalography (VEEG), and positron-emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) in EZ localization were evaluated to assess their diagnostic abilities. ReHo, ALFF, and fALFF were also compared for their diagnostic values. RESULTS:RS-fMRI showed comparable sensitivity to PET (83.3%) and specificity to VEEG (66.7%), respectively, for EZ localization in patients with focal epilepsy. There were no significant differences between RS-fMRI and the other localization techniques in terms of sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV. The sensitivities of ReHo, ALFF, and fALFF were 69.4%, 52.8%, and 38.9%, respectively, and for specificities of 66.7%, 83.3%, and 66.7%, respectively. There were no significant differences among ReHo, ALFF, and fALFF, except that ReHo was more sensitive than fALFF. CONCLUSIONS:RS-fMRI may be an efficient tool for detecting EZs in focal epilepsy patients

Study on microstructure evolution and fracture behavior of Al/Al/Cu multilayer composites

The microstructure evolution, mechanical properties, and the fracture mode of Al/Al/Cu multilayer structural composites produced by accumulative roll bonding (ARB) were investigated by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS), electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), tensile test at room temperature and microhardness tests. The results show that during the ARB process, the Cu layer undergoes the process from straightening, necking to fracture due to the difference in the strain hardening index and strength coefficient between Al and Cu. The shear stress caused by the severe plastic deformation makes the Cu grains elongated and flattened along the rolling direction, forming a fibrous shape. After the ARB5 cycles, the Cu grains undergo dynamic recrystallization, and a large number of equiaxed grains appear, with average grain size of 750 nm. After ARB3 cycles, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the composite reaches the maximum value of 625 MPa, and the elongation is 6.67%. During the tensile process, the transverse microcracks are first initiated at the Al3003/Cu interface, and then the microcracks propagate longitudinally along the Al layer. Finally, the microcracks in the Al layer merge into the main cracks, which develops in the direction of the shear bands with the rolling direction. With the increase of ARB cycles, the bonding strength of the Al3003/Cu interface increases, and the Al/Al/Cu multilayer structural composite changes from delamination-necking fracture to delamination-shear fracture and finally to shear fracture

Discovery of structure-based small molecular inhibitor of alpha B-crystallin against basal-like/triple-negative breast cancer development in vitro and in vivo

alpha B-crystallin (CRYAB) is present at a high frequency in poor prognosis basal-like breast tumours, which are largely absent of oestrogen, progesterone receptors and HER2 known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). CRYAB functions as a molecular chaperone to bind to and correct intracellular misfolded/unfolded proteins such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), preventing non-specific protein aggregations under the influence of the tumour microenvironment stress and/or anti-cancer treatments including bevacizumab therapy. Directly targeting CRYAB can sensitize tumour cells to chemotherapeutic agents and decrease tumour aggressiveness. However, growing evidence shows that CRYAB is a critical adaptive response element after ischemic heart disease and stroke, implying that directly targeting CRYAB might cause serious unwanted side effects. Here, we used structure-based molecular docking of CRYAB and identified a potent small molecular inhibitor, NCI-41356, which can strongly block the interaction between CRYAB and VEGF(165) without affecting CRYAB levels. The disruption of the interaction between CRYAB and VEGF(165) elicits in vitro anti-tumour cell proliferation and invasive effects through the down-regulation of VEGF signalling in the breast cancer cells. The observed in vitro anti-tumour angiogenesis of endothelial cells might be attributed to the down-regulation of paracrine VEGF signalling in the breast cancer cells after treatment with NCI-41356. Intraperitoneal injection of NCI-41356 greatly inhibits the tumour growth and vasculature development in in vivo human breast cancer xenograft models. Our findings provide &apos;proof-of-concept&apos; for the development of highly specific structure-based alternative targeted therapy for the prevention and/or treatment of TNBC.OncologySCI(E)[email protected]