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The definition of washout in gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI (Gd-EOB-MRI) is controversial. The current Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) defines washout only in the portal venous phase on Gd-EOB-MRI, leading to low diagnostic sensitivity for HCC. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the diagnostic performance of Gd-EOB-MRI using conventional (cWO) and modified (mWO) definitions of washout.The PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched to identify studies published between January 1, 2010, and August 1, 2021, that compared the diagnostic performance of cWO and mWO for HCC. The mWOs added transition phase (TP) hypointensity (mWO-1), hepatobiliary phase (HBP) hypointensity (mWO-2), or both (mWO-3). The pooled sensitivity and specificity were calculated using a bivariate random-effects model. Study heterogeneity was explored by subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis.Ten comparative studies with 2391 patients were included. Compared to cWO, the overall mWO yielded significantly higher sensitivity (71% vs. 81%, p = 0.00) and lower specificity (97% vs. 93%, p = 0.01) for diagnosing HCC. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.90 and 0.94 for the cWO and mWO, respectively. Regarding the three types of mWOs, mWO-2 showed the highest sensitivity (85%) and specificity (96%) for diagnosing HCC. mWO-2 achieved the highest AUC (0.97), followed by mWO-1 (0.90), and mWO-3 (0.89). Average reviewer experience and scanner field strength were significantly associated with study heterogeneity (p0.05).Inclusion of TP and HBP hypointensity in the definition of washout improved the sensitivity with slightly lower specificity for diagnosing HCC in LI-RADS.• Compared to the conventional definition of washout, studies using a modified definition had higher sensitivity (71% vs. 81%) but lower specificity (97% vs. 93%) in LI-RADS for the diagnosis of HCC. • Hepatobiliary phase hypointensity may be a preferred alternative washout for HCC diagnosis with the highest area under the curve. • Studies with experienced reviewer or 3.0T MRI showed higher sensitivity and lower specificity for diagnosing HCC when using modified washout (p0.05).

The clinical prognosis of endometrial cancer is poor. We assessed the influence of IL-17 and FGF2 on HEC-1B cells to provide evidence for the clinical prevention and treatment. HEC-1B cells were assigned into control group, IL-17 group, FGF2 group, and IL-17+FGF2 group followed by analysis of cell viability, IL-17 and FGF2 protein and mRNA content by Western Blot and RT-PCR. Under co-culture, the cell viability, migration and invasion and FGF2 level in IL-17 group, FGF2 group, and IL-17+FGF2 group were found to be significantly higher than those in control Group (P P < 0.05). IL-17 and FGF2 treatment in HEC-1B cells can significantly promote the viability, migration and invasion of malignant tumor cells with more significant changes in the IL-17+FGF2 intervention group, suggesting these two have a synergistic effect. In conclusion, IL-17 and FGF2 exerts synergistic effect on promoting endometrial cancer cell migration and invasion, indicating that they might be novel targets for the treatment of endometrial cancer.

The C+ ion photofragment spectra and photodissociation branching ratios into the two energetically available channels, C(1D) + O(3P) and C(3P) + O(3P), have been obtained for the three CO isotopologues, 12C16O, 13C16O, and 12C18O, in the vacuum ultraviolet range 100500-102320 cm-1. The two vibronic states of 1Σ+ symmetry, F(3dσ) 1Σ+(υ' = 1) and J(4sσ) 1Σ+(υ' = 0), predominantly dissociate into the lowest channel C(3P) + O(3P) through interactions with the repulsive D'1Σ+ state. All three vibronic states of 1Π symmetry, E'1Π(υ' = 1, 2) and G(3dπ) 1Π(υ' = 0), dissociate into both of the channels above. The photodissociation branching ratios into the channel C(1D) + O(3P) for E'1Π(υ' = 1, 2) are found to be independent of both the rotational quantum number and e/f parity, while those for G(3dπ) 1Π(υ' = 0) strongly depend on the rotational quantum number, indicating very different predissociation pathways between the valence states E'1Π(υ' = 1, 2) and the Rydberg state G(3dπ) 1Π(υ' = 0). The potential energy curves of CO in the aforementioned energy range and below have recently been well constructed due to a series of interplays between high-resolution spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculations; the photodissociation branching ratios measured in this study can provide further benchmarks for future theoretical investigations which aim to understand the detailed predissociation dynamics of CO.

Catalytic fixation of CO2 to produce valuable fine chemicals is of great significance to develop a green and sustainable circulation of excessive carbon in the environment. Herein, a series of non-toxic, biodegradable and recyclable acetylcholine-carboxylate bio-ionic liquids with different cations and anions were simply synthesized for producing formamides and methylamines using atmospheric CO2 as a carbon source, and phenylsilane as a hydrogen donor. The selectivity toward products was tuned by altering the reaction temperature under solvent or solvent-free conditions. N-Methylamines (ca. 96% yield) were obtained in acetonitrile at 50 °C, while N-formamides (ca. 99% yield) were attained without a solvent at 30 °C. The established bio-ionic liquid catalytic system found a wide range of applicability in substrates and possessed a high potentiality in scale-up to gram-grade production. The developed catalytic system was fairly stable, which could be easily reused without an apparent loss of reactivity, possibly due to the strong electrostatic interactions between the cation and anion. The combination of experimental and computational results explicitly elucidated the reaction mechanism: PhSiH3 activated by a bio-IL was favorable for the formation of silyl formate from hydrosilylation of CO2, followed by a reaction with an amine to give an N-formamide, while an N-methylamine was formed by further hydrosilylation of the N-formamide.

12C16O shows complicated absorption structures in the wavelength range of 92.84–93.37 nm caused by the mutual interactions among the Rydberg 4p(2) and 5p(0) complexes, and several diffuse valence states. Here, we systematically measured the branching ratios and fragment angular distributions for the photodissociation of 12C16O in the wavelength range using our mini-time-slice velocity-map imaging (mini-TSVMI) setup and a tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) laser radiation source generated by the two-photon resonance-enhanced four-wave mixing scheme. Various patterns of rotational dependence for the photodissociation branching ratios have been observed for different vibronic states, and they are found to be consistent with previous spectroscopic investigations, revealing the complicated coupling schemes and predissociation dynamics in this region. Irregular angular distributions of the photofragments have been observed, especially in the Rydberg 5p(0) complex region. This has been attributed to the simultaneous excitation of multiple states with different symmetries in this region. The newly observed underlying continuum in the Rydberg 5p(0) complex region has been directly detected in the present study, and it is found to be of 1Σ+ symmetry and dissociates predominantly into the C(3P) + O(3P) channel. This study generally confirms the results of previous spectroscopic studies from a different perspective, and adds new knowledge for understanding the complicated predissociation dynamics of 12C16O in the titled wavelength range.

The C

A recent high resolution photoabsorption study revealed that the Rydberg W

Rotational dependence of the total predissociation rate constants deduced from linewidth measurements in spectroscopic studies have often been used to predict the possible electronic coupling schemes in the photodissociation process of carbon monoxide (CO), while the intrinsic multi-channel characteristics of CO photodissociation make the prediction unreliable and sometimes misleading conclusions could be reached. Here, we demonstrate for the first time in the Rydberg 4p(2) and 5p(0) complexes region of 13C16O that absolute partial predissociation rate constants into each individual channel and their dependences on the rotational quantum numbers can be obtained through branching ratio measurements in combination with the total predissociation rate constants reported in spectroscopic studies. These channel-resolved rotationally dependent predissociation rate constants are found to unambiguously reveal the detailed state-to-state photodissociation dynamics of CO, which is not available from either the branching ratio or the total predissociation rate constant measurements individually.

Rare isotope (13C, 17O and 18O) substitutions can substantially change absorption line positions, oscillator strengths and photodissociation rates of carbon monoxide (CO) in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) region, which has been well accounted for in recent photochemical models for understanding the large isotopic fractionation effects that are apparent in carbon and oxygen in the solar system and molecular clouds. Here, we demonstrate a strong isotope effect associated with the VUV photodissociation of CO by measuring the branching ratios of 12C16O and 13C16O in the Rydberg 4p(2), 5p(0) and 5s(0) complex region. The measurements show that the quantum yields of electronically excited C atoms in the photodissociation of 13C16O are dramatically different from those of 12C16O, revealing strong isotope effect. This isotope effect strongly depends on specific quantum states of CO being excited, which implies that such effect must be considered in the photochemical models on a state by state basis., Carbon monoxide is the main C and O reservoir in interstellar media, where it undergoes photochemistry. The authors show that isotopic substitution affects not only its absorption. spectrum and photodissociation rates but also the branching ratio, key to understand isotopic. fractionation in the solar system

A recent high resolution photoabsorption study revealed that the Rydberg W1Π(ν = 1) level of carbon monoxide (CO) is perturbed by the valence E″1Π(ν = 0) level, and the predissociation linewidth shows drastic variation at the crossing point due to the interference effect [Heays et al., J. Chem. Phys. 141(14), 144311 (2014)]. Here, we reinvestigate the Rydberg W1Π(ν = 1) level for the three CO isotopologues, 12C16O, 13C16O, and 12C18O, by measuring the rotationally dependent photodissociation branching ratios. The C+ ion photofragment spectra obtained here reproduce the recent high resolution photoabsorption spectra very well, including the presence of the valence E″1Π(ν = 0) level. The photodissociation branching ratios into the spin-forbidden channel C(1D) + O(3P) show sudden increases at the crossing point between the W1Π(ν = 1) and E″1Π(ν = 0) levels, which is in perfect accordance with the drastic variation of the linewidth observed in the recent spectroscopic study. Further analysis reveals that the partial predissociation rate into the lowest channel C(3P) + O(3P) shows a much more prominent decrease at the crossing point, which is caused by the interference effect between the W1Π(ν = 1) and E″1Π(ν = 0) levels, than that into the spin-forbidden channel C(1D) + O(3P), and this is the reason of the sudden increase as observed in the photodissociation branching ratio measurements. We hope that the current experimental investigation will stimulate further theoretical studies, which could thoroughly address all the experimental observations in a quantitative way.

In this study, we present C+ ion photofragment spectroscopic studies and photodissociation branching ratio measurements for two CO isotopologs, 13C16O and 12C18O, in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) region from 107 800 cm−1 (92.76 nm) to 109 700 cm−1 (91.16 nm) using a time-slice velocity-map imaging setup and a tunable VUV laser radiation source generated by the two-photon resonance-enhanced four-wave mixing technique. Several absorption bands of 12C16O in the above energy region are reinvestigated up to higher rotational levels compared with previous studies. The results are compared among 12C16O, 13C16O, and 12C18O on a state-by-state basis, and the photodissociation branching ratios for channels C(1D) + O(3P), and C(3P) + O(1D) are dramatically changed for most of the absorption bands due to the substitutions of 12C by 13C and 16O by 18O. The branching ratios of 13C16O and 12C18O are close to each other due to their similar reduced masses. The strong and selective isotope effects obtained here not only provide useful information for understanding the complicated predissociation dynamics of CO, but are also important for developing a comprehensive photochemical model for explaining the C and O isotope heterogeneities as observed in the Solar System.

In the present study, photodissociation branching ratios are measured with optimised experimental conditions for the 12C16O absorption bands with upper states of I′(5sσ) 1Σ+(v′ = 1), (6sσ) 1Σ+(v′ =...

Conformers from the rotations of the methyl group and the methoxy or methylamino group, namely staggered (s)/eclipsed (e)-cis/trans 2-methoxypyridine (2MOP) and 2-N-methylaminopyridine (2NMP), are studied using theoretical calculations in combination with one-color resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization (1C-R2PI) and mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopies. The calculations predict that, for cis 2MOP, trans 2MOP and trans 2NMP, only the s conformers are stable in the S0, S1 and D0 states. However, for cis 2NMP, the stable conformer is staggered in the S0 state but eclipsed in the S1 and D0 states, indicating an isomerization upon the excitation or ionization from the S0 state. This is experimentally supported by the 1C-R2PI and MATI spectra of 2NMP. Due to the relative instability, the number density of trans 2MOP is too low in the sample to be detected. All the bands in the 1C-R2PI and MATI spectra of 2MOP are assigned to s-cis 2MOP. The energy differences between cis and trans conformers are derived from excitation and ionization energies, indicating another conformational isomerization: stable trans 2NMP in the S0 and S1 states but stable cis 2NMP in the D0 state. For 2MOP, the so-called syn preference previously found for the S0 state is also observed in the S1 and D0 states. The conformational preference and isomerization are discussed with natural bond orbital calculations and reduced density gradient analysis. For 2MOP, the syn preferences are mainly caused by the exchange repulsion among several σ-orbitals of the OCH3 group and the pyridine ring. While the relative stabilities of the s and e conformers of cis 2MOP and cis 2NMP are simultaneously influenced by steric repulsion and orbital interactions.

A mini time-sliced ion velocity map imaging photofragment translational spectrometer using low voltage acceleration has been constructed. The innovation of this apparatus adopts a relative low voltage (30–150 V) to substitute the traditional high voltage (650–4000 V) to accelerate and focus the fragment ions. The overall length of the flight path is merely 12 cm. There are many advantages for this instrument, such as compact structure, less interference, and easy to operate and control. Low voltage acceleration gives a longer turn-around time to the photofragment ions forming a thicker Newton sphere, which provides sufficient time for slicing. Ion trajectory simulation has been performed for determining the structure dimensions and the operating voltages. The photodissociation and multiphoton ionization of O2 at 224.999 nm is used to calibrate the ion images and examine the overall performance of the new spectrometer. The velocity resolution (Δν/ν) of this spectrometer from O2 photodissociation is about 0...