catena-Poly[[(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)cadmium(II)]-μ-oxalato-κ4 O 1,O 2:O 1′,O 2′]

In the title complex, [Cd(C2O4)(C12H8N2)]n, the CdII atom has a distorted octa­hedral coordination, defined by four O atoms from two symmetry-related oxalate ligands and by two N atoms from a bidentate 1,10-phenanthroline ligand. Each oxalate ligand bridges two CdII atoms, generating a zigzag chain structure propagating along [100]. The packing of the structure is consolidated by non-classical C—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions

Observation of a phononic higher-order Weyl semimetal

Weyl semimetals are extraordinary systems where exotic phenomena such as Fermi arcs, pseudo-gauge fields and quantum anomalies arise from topological band degeneracy in crystalline solids for electrons and metamaterials for photons and phonons. On the other hand, higher-order topological insulators unveil intriguing multidimensional topological physics beyond the conventional bulk-edge correspondences. However, it is unclear whether higher-order topology can emerge in Weyl semimetals. Here, we report the experimental discovery of higher-order Weyl semimetals in its phononic analog which exhibit topologically-protected boundary states in multiple dimensions. We create the physical realization of the higher-order Weyl semimetal in a chiral phononic crystal with uniaxial screw symmetry. Using near-field spectroscopies, we observe the chiral Fermi arcs on the surfaces and a new type of hinge arc states on the hinge boundaries. These topological boundary arc states link the projections of Weyl points in different dimensions and directions, and hence demonstrate higher-order multidimensional topological physics in Weyl semimetals. Our study establishes the fundamental connection between higher-order topology and Weyl physics in crystalline materials and unveils a new horizon of higher-order topological semimetals where unprecedented materials such as higher-order topological nodal-lines may emerge

Comparison of ocular trauma between normalized and the COVID-19 epidemic periods in China: a multi-center cross-sectional study

AIM: To compare the feature of ocular trauma between normalized period and the COVID-19 epidemic period in China, and to provide a profile for eye injuries in special times in future. METHODS: This is a multi-center cross-sectional study with 30 participated hospitals involving the China Ocular Trauma Society members. All hospitalized cases who visited the Ophthalmology Department in participated hospitals with eye injuries during the normalized period (2019) and the COVID-19 epidemic period (2020) were included in this study. Demographic characteristic of cases, date of injury, sites and types of injury were collected. RESULTS: This study involved 13 525 (61 cases with both eyes) injured cases. There were 7269 (53.74%) eye-injured cases and 6256 (46.26%) eye-injured cases in 2019 and 2020 separately. Compared with 2019, the incidence of ocular trauma in retirees, housewives and unemployed increased with year-on-year of 4.96%, 102.67%, and 11.64% among all occupations. In 2020, the incidence of eye injuries decreased in all injury sites except for an increase in home (30.29% year-on-year). The incidence of mechanical eye injuries decreased, while that of non-mechanical eye injuries (chemical/thermal/radiation) increased (47.45% year-on-year). There were 255 (3.51%, 255/7269) and 376 (6.01%, 376/6256) non-mechanical injured cases in 2019 and 2020 (Pearson Chi2=47.33, P<0.001) separately. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 epidemic period, the total cases of ocular trauma decrease but the proportion of non-mechanical ocular trauma increase. Penetrating is still the highest proportion among all types of mechanical ocular trauma. From a preventive point of view, protection for retired persons, housewives and unemployed persons should be improved during public health events period

Discontinuation of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia With Losing Major Molecular Response as a Definition for Molecular Relapse: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: A new goal in treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in patients with stable deep molecular response (DMR) is maintaining durable treatment-free remission (TFR) after discontinuing tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment.Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on the efficacy and safety of TKI discontinuation but also exploring the factors contributing to successful TFR.Results: The search yielded 10 trials including 1,601 patients. For patients who discontinued TKIs, the estimated weighted mean incidence of major molecular relapse was 16% (95%CI: 11–21), 34% (95%CI: 29–38), 39% (95%CI: 35–43) and 41% (95%CI: 36–47) at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Of these, 39, 82, and 95% of molecular losses occurred within the first 3, 6, and 12 months. In safety analysis, among patients without TFR, 98% (95% CI: 96–100) were sensitive to TKI retreatment. No new safety issues were identified except TKI withdrawal syndrome, which appeared during the early TFR phase, with a weighted mean incidence of 27% (95%CI: 19–35). Our subgroup analysis suggested better TFR associated with interferon therapy (P = 0.007), depth of molecular response (P = 0.018) and duration of DMR (P &lt; 0.001).Conclusions: TFR as an extension of an approach to optimize management of CML is clinically feasible in approximately 59% of patients with sufficient TKI response. In the remaining 41% of patients with molecular relapse, discontinuing TKIs had no negative impact on clinical outcomes. Given the high heterogeneity among studies, the role of these predictors for successful TFR still requires further investigation

Homologs of bacterial heat-labile enterotoxin subunit A contribute to development, stress response, and virulence in filamentous entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana

IntroductionEnterotoxigenic bacteria commonly excrete heat-labile enterotoxins (LT) as virulence factors that consist of one subunit A (LTA) and five B subunits (LTB). In fungi, there are a large number of genes encoding the homologs of LTA, but their biological roles remain largely unknown. MethodsIn this study, we identified 14 enterotoxin_A domain proteins in filamentous fungus B. bassiana in which five proteins were functionally characterized. ResultsFive proteins displayed diverse sub-cellular localizations but perform convergent functions in stress response, development, and virulence. The loss of five LTA genes resulted in significant reduction in conidial production, blastospore formation, and the increased sensitivity to oxidative and cell wall –perturbing stresses. The virulence of five disruptants was notably weakened as indicated by topical and intrahemocoel injection assays. Notably, the loss of these five proteins led to the significant changes in the carbohydrate profiles of cellular surface, which induced the enhanced host immune reactions of encapsulation and melanization. DiscussionThus, LTA proteins contribute to the fungus–host interaction via maintaining the carbohydrate profiles of cellular surface. This study expands our understanding of the enterotoxin_A domain proteins in fungal physiology and deepens mechanisms involved in the lifestyle of fungal insect pathogens

Hierarchical chirality transfer in the growth of towel gourd tendrils

Chirality plays a significant role in the physical properties and biological functions of many biological materials, e.g., climbing tendrils and twisted leaves, which exhibit chiral growth. However, the mechanisms underlying the chiral growth of biologic

Conspicuity of breast lesions at different b values on diffusion-weighted imaging

BACKGROUND: Diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging has shown potential to differentiate between malignant and benign breast lesions. However, different b values have been used with varied sensitivity and specificity. This study aims to prospectively evaluate the influence of b value on the detection and assessment of breast lesions. METHODS: Institutional review board approval and informed patient consent were obtained. Between February 2010 and September 2010, sixty women suspected of having breast cancer by clinical examination and mammography underwent bilateral breast MRI and DW imaging (with maximum b values of 600, 800, and 1000 s/mm(2)). Conspicuity grades of lesions at different b values on DW images were performed. Signal intensity and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were recorded and compared among different b values by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Fifty-seven lesions from 52 recruited patients including 39/57 (68%) malignant and 18/57 (32%) benign were confirmed with pathology. DCE MRI accurately detected 53 lesions with the sensitivity of 93.0% and specificity of 66.7%, and DW imaging accurately detected 51 lesions with the sensitivity of 89.5% and specificity of 100%. There were no significant differences in conspicuity grades compared among the three b values (P = 0.072), although the SNR and CNR of breast lesions decreased significantly with higher b values. Mean ADCs of malignant lesions (b = 600 s/mm(2), 1.07 ± 0.26 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; b = 800 s/mm(2), 0.96 ± 0.22 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; b = 1000 s/mm(2), 0.92 ± 0.26 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s) were significantly lower than those of benign lesions (b = 600 s/mm(2), 1.55 ± 0.40 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; b = 800 s/mm(2), 1.43 ± 0.38 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; b = 1000 s/mm(2), 1.49 ± 0.38 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s) with all P values <0.001, but there were no significant differences among the three b values (P = 0.303 and 0.840 for malignant and benign lesions, respectively). According to the area under the ROC curves, which were derived from ADC and differentiate malignant from benign lesions, no significant differences were found among the three b values (P = 0.743). CONCLUSIONS: DW imaging is a potential adjunct to conventional MRI in the differentiation between malignant and benign breast lesions. Varying the maximum b value from 600 to 1000 s/mm(2) does not influence the conspicuity of breast lesions on DW imaging at 1.5 T

Experimental analysis of super-knock occurrence based on a spark ignition engine with high compression ratio

The super-knock phenomenon is a major obstacle for further improving the power density in SI engines. The objective of this paper is to experimentally investigating the mechanism involved in the occurrence of super-knock. In this work, a high compression ratio (CR = 13) coupled with advanced spark timings were employed to achieving intense or critical thermal-dynamic conditions to easily inducing the super-knock. The results show that super-knock can originate from spark ignition, which is different from previous results regarding pre-ignition. Changing the spark timing super-knock can be induced with very high pressure oscillation at the present high compression ratio. The high compression ratio could generate sufficiently high thermal-dynamic conditions to inducing the abnormal combustion. In this research, four combustion phenomena were observed. The present work indicates that there is a nonlinear relationship between knock intensity and knocking onset in terms of pressure profiles at different cycles. The super-knock or knock phenomena were dominantly induced by spark ignition, which were controlled by the pre-ignition after several cycles. Finally, the analysis of the mechanism of super-knock with severe pressure oscillation was employed based on the thermal explosion theory and cavity resonances. There are two possible auto-ignition combustion modes that can induce the intense pressure oscillation