Systemic risk spillover between the stock market and banking deposits: Evidence from a sustainability perspective in the South Asian countries.

This research explores the link between stock markets and banking deposits in South Asian (Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal) countries. This study empirically examines the systemic risk potential of financial institutions in South Asia using current systemic risk statistics. Yearly data on stock prices and banking deposits from January 2000 to December 2020 were analyzed using a two-stage process. In the first phase, we measure VaR (value at risk), and in the second step, we measure the DCC GARCH model for our empirical analysis. The study findings reveal systemic risk spillover between the stock markets of South Asian countries and the relevant country's banking system deposits. The policymakers can use our study findings to create a more sustainable financial sector.

Simultaneous estimation of a model-derived input function for quantifying cerebral glucose metabolism with [18F]FDG PET.

BACKGROUND: Quantification of the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRGlu) by dynamic [18F]FDG PET requires invasive arterial sampling. Alternatives to using an arterial input function (AIF) include the simultaneous estimation (SIME) approach, which models the image-derived input function (IDIF) by a series of exponentials with coefficients obtained by fitting time activity curves (TACs) from multiple volumes-of-interest. A limitation of SIME is the assumption that the input function can be modelled accurately by a series of exponentials. Alternatively, we propose a SIME approach based on the two-tissue compartment model to extract a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) model-derived input function (MDIF) from the whole-brain TAC. The purpose of this study is to present the MDIF approach and its implementation in the analysis of animal and human data. METHODS: Simulations were performed to assess the accuracy of the MDIF approach. Animal experiments were conducted to compare derived MDIFs to measured AIFs (n = 5). Using dynamic [18F]FDG PET data from neurologically healthy volunteers (n = 18), the MDIF method was compared to the original SIME-IDIF. Lastly, the feasibility of extracting parametric images was investigated by implementing a variational Bayesian parameter estimation approach. RESULTS: Simulations demonstrated that the MDIF can be accurately extracted from a whole-brain TAC. Good agreement between MDIFs and measured AIFs was found in the animal experiments. Similarly, the MDIF-to-IDIF area-under-the-curve ratio from the human data was 1.02 ± 0.08, resulting in good agreement in grey matter CMRGlu: 24.5 ± 3.6 and 23.9 ± 3.2 mL/100 g/min for MDIF and IDIF, respectively. The MDIF method proved superior in characterizing the first pass of [18F]FDG. Groupwise parametric images obtained with the MDIF showed the expected spatial patterns. CONCLUSIONS: A model-driven SIME method was proposed to derive high SNR input functions. Its potential was demonstrated by the good agreement between MDIFs and AIFs in animal experiments. In addition, CMRGlu estimates obtained in the human study agreed to literature values. The MDIF approach requires fewer fitting parameters than the original SIME method and has the advantage that it can model the shape of any input function. In turn, the high SNR of the MDIFs has the potential to facilitate the extraction of voxelwise parameters when combined with robust parameter estimation methods such as the variational Bayesian approach.

Ezh2 promotes mammary tumor initiation through epigenetic regulation of the Wnt and mTORC1 signaling pathways.

The regulation of gene expression through histone posttranslational modifications plays a crucial role in breast cancer progression. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the contribution of histone modification to tumor initiation remain unclear. To gain a deeper understanding of the role of the histone modifier Enhancer of Zeste homology 2 (Ezh2) in the early stages of mammary tumor progression, we employed an inducible mammary organoid system bearing conditional Ezh2 alleles that faithfully recapitulates key events of luminal B breast cancer initiation. We showed that the loss of Ezh2 severely impairs oncogene-induced organoid growth, with Ezh2-deficient organoids maintaining a polarized epithelial phenotype. Transcriptomic profiling showed that Ezh2-deficient mammary epithelial cells up-regulated the expression of negative regulators of Wnt signaling and down-regulated genes involved in mTORC1 (mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1) signaling. We identified Sfrp1, a Wnt signaling suppressor, as an Ezh2 target gene that is derepressed and expressed in Ezh2-deficient epithelium. Furthermore, an analysis of breast cancer data revealed that Sfrp1 expression was associated with favorable clinical outcomes in luminal B breast cancer patients. Finally, we confirmed that targeting Ezh2 impairs mTORC1 activity through an indirect mechanism that up-regulates the expression of the tumor suppressor Pten. These findings indicate that Ezh2 integrates the mTORC1 and Wnt signaling pathways during early mammary tumor progression, arguing that inhibiting Ezh2 or therapeutically targeting Ezh2-dependent programs could be beneficial for the treatment of early-stage luminal B breast cancer.

Embedded nano spin sensor for in situ probing of gas adsorption inside porous organic frameworks.

Spin-based sensors have attracted considerable attention owing to their high sensitivities. Herein, we developed a metallofullerene-based nano spin sensor to probe gas adsorption within porous organic frameworks. For this, spin-active metallofullerene, Sc3C2@C80, was selected and embedded into a nanopore of a pyrene-based covalent organic framework (Py-COF). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy recorded the EPR signals of Sc3C2@C80 within Py-COF after adsorbing N2, CO, CH4, CO2, C3H6, and C3H8. Results indicated that the regularly changing EPR signals of embedded Sc3C2@C80 were associated with the gas adsorption performance of Py-COF. In contrast to traditional adsorption isotherm measurements, this implantable nano spin sensor could probe gas adsorption and desorption with in situ, real-time monitoring. The proposed nano spin sensor was also employed to probe the gas adsorption performance of a metal-organic framework (MOF-177), demonstrating its versatility. The nano spin sensor is thus applicable for quantum sensing and precision measurements.

Structure and single-molecule conductance of two endohedral metallofullerenes with large C88 cage.

Endohedral metallofullerenes are capable of holding peculiar metal clusters inside the carbon cage. Additionally, these display many chemical and physical properties originating from the complexation between the metal clusters and carbon cages, which could be acquired for wide applications. In this study, two metallofullerenes (Ce2O@C88 and Ce3N@C88) with an identical large C88-D2(35) cage, and their molecular structures and single-molecule conductance properties were investigated comparatively. Characterizations of UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and DFT calculations were employed to determine the geometries and electronic structures of Ce2O@C88 and Ce3N@C88. These molecules revealed varied energy gaps, structural parameters, vibrational modes, and molecular frontier orbitals. Although the two metallofullerenes have an identical cage isomer of C88-D2(35), their different endohedral clusters can influence their structures and physicochemical properties. Furthermore, the single-molecule conductance properties were measured using the scanning tunneling microscopy break junction technique (STM-BJ). The experimental results revealed that Ce2O@C88 has a higher conductance than Ce3N@C88 and C60. This revealed the cluster-dependent electron transportation as well as the significant research value of metallofullerenes with large carbon cages. These results provide guidance for fabricating single-molecule electronic devices.

Theoretical Study on a Supramolecular Dimeric Structure Constructed by Metallofullerene Y3N@C80 and Figure-of-Eight Nanoring.

A new supramolecular complex with a dimeric structure (2Y3N@C80⊂OPP) constructed by metallofullerene Y3N@Ih-C80 and figure-of-eight molecular nanoring of oligoparaphenylene (OPP) was investigated using dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3). The interactions between the Y3N@Ih-C80 guest and the OPP host were studied theoretically at the B3LYP-D3/6-31G(d)∼SDD level. By analyzing geometric characteristics and host-guest binding energies, it is revealed that the OPP is an ideal host molecule for the Y3N@Ih-C80 guest. Typically, the OPP can well induce the orientation of the endohedral Y3N cluster on the plane of nanoring. Meanwhile, the configuration of the dimeric structure demonstrates that OPP presents excellent elastic adaptability and shape flexibility during the encapsulation of Y3N@Ih-C80. Highly accurate binding energy suggests that 2Y3N@C80⊂OPP (∼-443.82 kJ mol-1 at the ωB97M-V/def2-QZVPP level of theory) is an extremely stable host-guest complex. Thermodynamic information indicates that the formation of the 2Y3N@C80⊂OPP dimer is thermodynamically spontaneous. Furthermore, electronic property analysis reveals that this dimeric structure has a strong electron-attracting ability. Energy decomposition and real-space function analyses of host-guest interactions reveal the characteristics and nature of the noncovalent interactions in the supramolecules. These results provide theoretical support for the design of new host-guest systems based on metallofullerene and nanoring.

More management is needed to improve the effectiveness of artificial grassland in vegetation and soil restoration on the three-river headwaters region of China.

Establishing an artificial grassland is a common measure employed to restore heavily degraded alpine grasslands for regional sustainability. The Three-River Headwaters Region in China has significant areas of black-soil-type grassland which is typified by heavy degradation; nearly 35% of the grassland regions in the Three-River Headwaters Region has degraded into this type. There are different plant community types of black-soil-type grasslands, however, it is not clear which restoration measures should be adopted for different kinds of black-soil-type grasslands. Here, we investigate the plant community characteristics and soil physicochemical properties of artificial grasslands, two types of black-soil-type grasslands, and native undegraded grassland in the Three-River Headwaters Region, then analyzed the direct and indirect interactions between the plant and soil properties by partial least squares path models (PLS-PM). Our results revealed that establishing artificial grassland significantly increased aboveground biomass and plant community coverage, and also decreased plant species richness and diversity and soil water content, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in the 0-10 cm soil layer as compared with black-soil-type grasslands. Plant community diversity had a positive effect on plant community productivity, soil nutrient, and soil water content in native undegraded grassland. These results suggest that more management interventions are needed after establishing an artificial grassland, such as reducing dominant species in two types of black-soil-type grasslands, water regulation in the A. frigida-dominated meadow, diversifying plant species (i.e., Gramineae and sedges), and fertilizer addition.

Reduced soil multifunctionality and microbial network complexity in degraded and revegetated alpine meadows.

Understanding how microbial processes develop and change in alpine meadow soils is key to global initiatives toward environmental sustainability and local land management. Yet, how microbial interactions mediate soil multifunctionality in disturbed and managed alpine meadows remains understudied. Here, we investigated multiple community metrics, particularly microbial network properties and assembly processes, of soil bacterial and fungal communities and their links to certain soil functions along a degradation-restoration sequence of alpine meadows in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Meadow degradation caused significant declines in soil hydraulic conductivity (e.g., higher bulk density, reduced soil porosity and water content) and nitrogen availability, leading to lowered soil multifunctionality. Meadow degradation only caused weak changes in microbial abundance, alpha diversity, and community composition, but remarkably reduced bacterial network complexity, to a less extent for fungal network properties. Short-term artificial restoration with productive grass monocultures did not restore soil multifunctionality, in turn even destabilized bacterial network and favored pathogenic over mutualistic fungi. Soil fungi community are more stable than bacteria in disturbed alpine meadows, and they evolved with distinct assembly strategies (stochastic-dominant versus deterministic-driven processes, respectively). Further, microbial network complexity, positively and better predicts soil multifunctionality than alpha diversity. Our work shows how microbial interaction complexity may enhance soil multifunctionality in degraded alpine meadow ecosystems, noting that meadow restoration with low plant species diversity may failed in restoring multiple ecosystem functions. These findings would help predict the outcomes of global environmental changes and inform management strategies in regional grassland conservation and restoration.

A Protocol for Simultaneous In Vivo Imaging of Cardiac and Neuroinflammation in Dystrophin-Deficient MDX Mice Using [18F]FEPPA PET.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a neuromuscular disorder caused by dystrophin loss-notably within muscles and the central neurons system. DMD presents as cognitive weakness, progressive skeletal and cardiac muscle degeneration until pre-mature death from cardiac or respiratory failure. Innovative therapies have improved life expectancy; however, this is accompanied by increased late-onset heart failure and emergent cognitive degeneration. Thus, better assessment of dystrophic heart and brain pathophysiology is needed. Chronic inflammation is strongly associated with skeletal and cardiac muscle degeneration; however, neuroinflammation's role is largely unknown in DMD despite being prevalent in other neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we present an inflammatory marker translocator protein (TSPO) positron emission tomography (PET) protocol for in vivo concomitant assessment of immune cell response in hearts and brains of a dystrophin-deficient mouse model [mdx:utrn(+/-)]. Preliminary analysis of whole-body PET imaging using the TSPO radiotracer, [18F]FEPPA in four mdx:utrn(+/-) and six wildtype mice are presented with ex vivo TSPO-immunofluorescence tissue staining. The mdx:utrn(+/-) mice showed significant elevations in heart and brain [18F]FEPPA activity, which correlated with increased ex vivo fluorescence intensity, highlighting the potential of TSPO-PET to simultaneously assess presence of cardiac and neuroinflammation in dystrophic heart and brain, as well as in several organs within a DMD model.

The performance of machine learning approaches for attenuation correction of PET in neuroimaging: A meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This systematic review provides a consensus on the clinical feasibility of machine learning (ML) methods for brain PET attenuation correction (AC). Performance of ML-AC were compared to clinical standards. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty studies were identified through electronic searches of brain PET studies published between January 1, 2008, and August 1, 2022. Reported outcomes for image quality, tissue classification performance, regional and global bias were extracted to evaluate ML-AC performance. Methodological quality of included studies and the quality of evidence of analysed outcomes were assessed using QUADAS-2 and GRADE, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 19 studies (2371 participants) met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the global bias of ML methods was 0.76 ± 1.2%. For image quality, the relative mean square error (RMSE) was 0.20 ± 0.4 while for tissues classification, the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) for bone/soft tissue/air were 0.82 ± 0.1 / 0.95 ± 0.03 / 0.85 ± 0.14. CONCLUSIONS: In general, ML-AC performance is within acceptable limits for clinical PET imaging. The sparse information on ML-AC robustness and its limited qualitative clinical evaluation may hinder clinical implementation in neuroimaging, especially for PET/MRI or emerging brain PET systems where standard AC approaches are not readily available.

[Differentiation of grazing pressure expressions and its applicable scenarios]. / æ”¾ç‰§åŽ‹åŠ›è¡¨è¿°çš„åˆ†å¼‚åŠå ¶é€‚ç”¨åœºæ™¯.

High intensity grazing is considered as an important cause of grassland degradation. Numerous studies have explored effects of grazing activities on grassland ecosystems. Nevertheless, the research regarding grazing activity itself, especially the quantification methods and gradient division of grazing pressure, is relatively insufficient. Based on a total of 141 Chinese and English papers containing keywords such as 'grazing pressure', 'grazing intensity', and giving specific quantification methods and classification standards, we sorted out the definition, quantification methods, and grading standards of grazing pressure. The results showed that the definition of grazing pressure in current studies could be classified into two categories: considering the number of livestock carried in the current grassland ecosystem only from the perspective of the amount of grazing livestock; or considering the impacts or consequences on grassland ecosystems. Small-scale manipulative experiments mainly quantified and divided gra-zing pressure by controlling the number of livestock, grazing duration, grazing area, etc. Ecosystem responses to grazing activities were also converted by the above indicators, while the large-scale data spatialization method only considered number of livestock per unit area. The method of remote sensing inversion focused on ecosystem responses, that is, the impacts of grazing activities on grasslands, and it was difficult to separate the role of climatic factors. The quantitative standards of grazing pressure in different grassland types were quite different, even in the same grassland type, and such difference was directly related to grassland productivity.

Development of a minimally invasive simultaneous estimation method for quantifying translocator protein binding with [18F]FEPPA positron emission tomography.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using a minimally invasive simultaneous estimation method (SIME) to quantify the binding of the 18-kDa translocator protein tracer [18F]FEPPA. Arterial sampling was avoided by extracting an image-derived input function (IDIF) that was metabolite-corrected using venous blood samples. The possibility of reducing scan duration to 90 min from the recommended 2-3 h was investigated by assuming a uniform non-displaceable distribution volume (VND) to simplify the SIME fitting. RESULTS: SIME was applied to retrospective data from healthy volunteers and was comprised of both high-affinity binders (HABs) and mixed-affinity binders (MABs). Estimates of global VND and regional total distribution volume (VT) from SIME were not significantly different from values obtained using a two-tissue compartment model (2CTM). Regional VT estimates were greater for HABs compared to MABs for both the 2TCM and SIME, while the SIME estimates had lower inter-subject variability (41 ± 17% reduction). Binding potential (BPND) values calculated from regional VT and brain-wide VND estimates were also greater for HABs, and reducing the scan time from 120 to 90 min had no significant effect on BPND. The feasibility of using venous metabolite correction was evaluated in a large animal model involving a simultaneous collection of arterial and venous samples. Strong linear correlations were found between venous and arterial measurements of the blood-to-plasma ratio and the remaining [18F]FEPPA fraction. Lastly, estimates of BPND and the specific distribution volume (i.e., VS = VT - VND) from a separate group of healthy volunteers (90 min scan time, venous-scaled IDIFs) agreed with estimates from the retrospective data for both genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that accurate estimates of regional VT, BPND and VS can be obtained by applying SIME to [18F]FEPPA data. Furthermore, the application of SIME enabled the scan time to be reduced to 90 min, and the approach worked well with IDIFs that were scaled and metabolite-corrected using venous blood samples.

The functional and structural associations of aberrant microglial activity in major depressive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating mental illness that has been linked to increases in markers of inflammation, as well as to changes in brain functional and structural connectivity, particularly between the insula and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC). In this study, we directly related inflammation and dysconnectivity in treatment-resistant MDD by concurrently measuring the following: microglial activity with [18F]N-2-(fluoroethoxyl)benzyl-N-(4phenoxypyridin-3-yl)acetamide ([18F]FEPPA) positron emission tomography (PET); the severity of MDD; and functional or structural connectivity among insula or sgACC nodes. METHODS: Twelve patients with treatment-resistant MDD (8 female, 4 male; mean age ± standard deviation 54.9 ± 4.5 years and 23 healthy controls (11 female, 12 male; 60.3 ± 8.5 years) completed a hybrid [18F]FEPPA PET and MRI acquisition. From these, we extracted relative standardized uptake values for [18F]FEPPA activity and Pearson r-to-z scores representing functional connectivity from our regions of interest. We extracted diffusion tensor imaging metrics from the cingulum bundle, a key white matter bundle in MDD. We performed regressions to relate microglial activity with functional connectivity, structural connectivity and scores on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. RESULTS: We found significantly increased [18F]FEPPA uptake in the left sgACC in patients with treatment-resistant MDD compared to healthy controls. Patients with MDD also had a reduction in connectivity between the sgACC and the insula. The [18F]FEPPA uptake in the left sgACC was significantly related to functional connectivity with the insula, and to the structural connectivity of the cingulum bundle. [18F]FEPPA uptake also predicted scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.Limitations: A relatively small sample size, lack of functional task data and concomitant medication use may have affected our findings. CONCLUSION: We present preliminary evidence linking a network-level dysfunction relevant to the pathophysiology of depression and related to increased microglial activity in MDD.

Photoelectrochemical Response Enhancement for Metallofullerene-[12]Cycloparaphenylene Supramolecular Complexes.

The photoelectrochemical properties of three metallofullerene-[12]cycloparaphenylene ([12]CPP) supramolecular complexes of Sc3N@C78⊂[12]CPP, Sc3N@C80⊂[12]CPP, and Sc2C2@C82⊂[12]CPP were studied. It was revealed that the photocurrent responses of these supramolecular complexes show enhancement compared with those of pristine metallofullerenes, indicating the efficient photocurrent generation and promoted charge carrier transport caused by the supramolecular interaction. The results show that Sc2C2@C82 and Sc2C2@C82⊂[12]CPP have the strongest photocurrents. Then, by comparing the photocurrent intensities of the metallofullerene-biphenyl derivates mixture and the metallofullerene⊂[12]CPP complexes, it was demonstrated that the host-guest interaction is the key factor promoting photocurrent enhancement. At the same time, by observing the microscopic morphologies of pristine fullerenes and supramolecular complexes, it was found that the construction of supramolecules helps to improve the morphology of metallofullerenes on FTO glass. Additionally, their electrical conductivity in optoelectronic devices was tested, respectively, indicating that the construction of supramolecules facilitates the transport of charge carriers. This work discloses the potential application of metallofullerene supramolecular complexes as photodetector and photoelectronic materials.

Concordance of regional hypoperfusion by pCASL MRI and 15O-water PET in frontotemporal dementia: Is pCASL an efficacious alternative?

BACKGROUND: Clinical diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) remains a challenge due to the overlap of symptoms among FTD subtypes and with other psychiatric disorders. Perfusion imaging by arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a promising non-invasive alternative to established PET techniques; however, its sensitivity to imaging parameters can hinder its ability to detect perfusion abnormalities. PURPOSE: This study evaluated the similarity of regional hypoperfusion patterns detected by ASL relative to the gold standard for imaging perfusion, PET with radiolabeled water (15O-water). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Perfusion by single-delay pseudo continuous ASL (SD-pCASL), free-lunch Hadamard encoded pCASL (FL_TE-pCASL), and 15O-water data were acquired on a hybrid PET/MR scanner in 13 controls and 9 FTD patients. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) by 15O-water was quantified by a non-invasive approach (PMRFlow). Regional hypoperfusion was determined by comparing individual patients to the control group. This was performed using absolute (aCBF) and CBF normalized to whole-brain perfusion (rCBF). Agreement was assessed based on the fraction of overlapping voxels. Sensitivity and specificity of pCASL was estimated using hypoperfused regions of interest identified by 15O-water. RESULTS: Region of interest (ROI) based perfusion measured by 15O-water strongly correlated with SD-pCASL (R = 0.85 ± 0.1) and FL_TE-pCASL (R = 0.81 ± 0.14). Good agreement in terms of regional hypoperfusion patterns was found between 15O-water and SD-pCASL (sensitivity = 70%, specificity = 78%) and between 15O-water and FL_TE-pCASL (sensitivity = 71%, specificity = 73%). However, SD-pCASL showed greater overlap (43.4 ± 21.3%) with 15O-water than FL_TE-pCASL (29.9 ± 21.3%). Although aCBF and rCBF showed no significant differences regarding spatial overlap and metrics of agreement with 15O-water, rCBF showed considerable variability across subtypes, indicating that care must be taken when selecting a reference region. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the potential of pCASL for assessing regional hypoperfusion related to FTD and supports its use as a cost-effective alternative to PET.

Noninvasive Quantification of Cerebral Blood Flow Using Hybrid PET/MR Imaging to Extract the [15 O]H2 O Image-Derived Input Function Free of Partial Volume Errors.

BACKGROUND: Quantification of cerebral blood flow (CBF) with [15 O]H2 O-positron emission tomography (PET) requires arterial sampling to measure the input function. This invasive procedure can be avoided by extracting an image-derived input function (IDIF); however, IDIFs are sensitive to partial volume errors due to the limited spatial resolution of PET. PURPOSE: To present an alternative hybrid PET/MR imaging of CBF (PMRFlowIDIF ) that uses phase-contrast (PC) MRI measurements of whole-brain (WB) CBF to calibrate an IDIF extracted from a WB [15 O]H2 O time-activity curve. STUDY TYPE: Technical development and validation. ANIMAL MODEL: Twelve juvenile Duroc pigs (83% female). POPULATION: Thirteen healthy individuals (38% female). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCES: 3 T; gradient-echo PC-MRI. ASSESSMENT: PMRFlowIDIF was validated against PET-only in a porcine model that included arterial sampling. CBF maps were generated by applying PMRFlowIDIF and two previous PMRFlow methods (PC-PET and double integration method [DIM]) to [15 O]H2 O-PET data acquired from healthy individuals. STATISTICAL TESTS: PMRFlow and PET CBF measurements were compared with regression and correlation analyses. Paired t-tests were performed to evaluate differences. Potential biases were assessed using one-sample t-tests. Reliability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficients. Statistical significance: α  = 0.05. RESULTS: In the animal study, strong agreement was observed between PMRFlowIDIF (average voxel-wise CBF, 58.0 ± 16.9 mL/100 g/min) and PET (63.0 ± 18.9 mL/100 g/min). In the human study, PMRFlowDIM (y = 1.11x - 5.16, R2  = 0.99 ± 0.01) and PMRFlowPC-PET (y = 0.87x + 3.82, R2  = 0.97 ± 0.02) performed similarly to PMRFlowIDIF, and CBF was within the expected range (eg, 49.7 ± 7.2 mL/100 g/min for gray matter). DATA CONCLUSION: Accuracy of PMRFlowIDIF was confirmed in the animal study with the primary source of error attributed to differences in WB CBF measured by PC MRI and PET. In the human study, differences in CBF from PMRFlowIDIF , PMRFlowDIM , and PMRFlowPC-PET were due to the latter two not accounting for blood-borne activity. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 1.

A Metallofullertube of Ce2 @C100 with a Carbon Nanotube Segment: Synthesis, Single-Molecule Conductance and Supramolecular Assembly.

Tubular fullerenes can be considered as end-capped carbon nanotubes with accurate structure, which are promising nanocarbon materials for advanced single-molecule electronic devices. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of a metallofullertube Ce2 @D5 (450)-C100 , which has a tubular C100 cage with a carbon nanotube segment and two fullerene end-caps. As there are structure correlations between tubular Ce2 @D5 (450)-C100 and spherical Ce2 @Ih -C80 , their structure-property relationship has been compared by means of experimental and theoretical methods. Notably, single-molecule conductance measurement determined that the conductivity of Ce2 @D5 (450)-C100 was up to eight times larger than that of Ce2 @Ih -C80 . Furthermore, supramolecular assembly of Ce2 @D5 (450)-C100 and a [12]CPP nanohoop was investigated, and theoretical calculations revealed that metallofullertube Ce2 @D5 (450)-C100 adopted a "standing" configuration in the cavity of [12]CPP. These results demonstrate the special nature of this kind of metallofullertube.

Sensitivity of Arterial Spin Labeling for Characterization of Longitudinal Perfusion Changes in Frontotemporal Dementia and Related Disorders.

BACKGROUND: Advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and related disorders, along with the development of novel candidate disease modifying treatments, have stimulated the need for tools to assess the efficacy of new therapies. While perfusion imaging by arterial spin labeling (ASL) is an attractive approach for longitudinal imaging biomarkers of neurodegeneration, sources of variability between sessions including arterial transit times (ATT) and fluctuations in resting perfusion can reduce its sensitivity. Establishing the magnitude of perfusion changes that can be reliably detected is necessary to delineate longitudinal perfusion changes related to disease processes from the effects of these sources of error. PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility of ASL for longitudinal monitoring of patients with FTD by quantifying between-session variability of perfusion on a voxel-by-voxel basis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: ASL data were collected in 13 healthy controls and 8 patients with FTD or progressive supra-nuclear palsy. Variability in cerebral blood flow (CBF) by single delay pseudo-continuous ASL (SD-pCASL) acquired one month apart were quantified by the coefficient of variation (CV) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Additionally, CBF by SD-pCASL and ATT by low-resolution multiple inversion time ASL (LowRes-pCASL) were compared to Hadamard encoded sequences which are able to simultaneously measure CBF and ATT with improved time-efficiency. RESULTS: Agreement of grey-matter perfusion between sessions was found for both patients and controls (CV = 10.8% and 8.3% respectively) with good reliability for both groups (ICC > 0.6). Intensity normalization to remove day-to-day fluctuations in resting perfusion reduced the CV by 28%. Less than 5% of voxels had ATTs above the chosen post labelling delay (2 s), indicating that the ATT was not a significant source of error. Hadamard-encoded perfusion imaging yielded systematically higher CBF compared to SD-pCASL, but produced similar transit-time measurements. Power analysis revealed that SD-pCASL has the sensitivity to detect longitudinal changes as low as 10% with as few as 10 patient participants. CONCLUSION: With the appropriate labeling parameters, SD-pCASL is a promising approach for assessing longitudinal changes in CBF associated with FTD.

Spatiotemporal Variation in Rainfall Erosivity and Correlation with the ENSO on the Tibetan Plateau since 1971.

Soil erosion is a serious ecological problem in the fragile ecological environment of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Rainfall erosivity is one of the most important factors controlling soil erosion and is associated with the El Niño southern oscillation (ENSO). However, there is a lack of studies related to the spatial distribution and temporal trends of rainfall erosivity on the TP as a whole. Additionally, the understanding of the general influence of ENSO on rainfall erosivity across the TP remains to be developed. In this study, long-term (1971-2020) daily precipitation data from 91 meteorological stations were selected to calculate rainfall erosivity. The analysis combines co-kriging interpolation, Sen's slope estimator, and the Mann-Kendall trend test to investigate the spatiotemporal patten of rainfall erosivity across the TP. The Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) and multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) were chosen as ENSO phenomenon characterization indices, and the relationship between ENSO and rainfall erosivity was explored by employing a continuous wavelet transform. The results showed that an increasing trend in annual rainfall erosivity was detected on the TP from 1971 to 2020. The seasonal and monthly rainfall erosivity was highly uneven, with the summer erosivity accounting for 60.36%. The heterogeneous spatial distribution of rainfall erosivity was observed with an increasing trend from southeast to northwest. At the regional level, rainfall erosivity in the southeastern TP was mainly featured by a slow increase, while in the northwest was more destabilizing and mostly showed no significant trend. The rainfall erosivity on the whole TP was relatively high during non-ENSO periods and relatively low during El Niño/La Niña periods. It is worth noting that rainfall erosivity in the northwest TP appears to be more serious during the La Niña event. Furthermore, there were obvious resonance cycles between the rainfall erosivity and ENSO in different regions of the plateau, but the cycles had pronounced discrepancies in the occurrence time, direction of action and intensity. These findings contribute to providing references for soil erosion control on the TP and the formulation of future soil conservation strategies.