Intense venous reflux,quantified by a new software to analyze presurgical ultrasound,is associated with unfavorable outcomes of microsurgical varicocelectomy

The hemodynamic characteristics of venous reflux are associated with infertility in patients with varicocele;however,an effective method for quantifying the structural distribution of the reflux is lacking.This study aimed to predict surgical outcomes using a new software for venous reflux quantification.This was a retrospective cohort study of a consecutive series of 105 patients(age range:22–44 years)between July 2017 and September 2019.Venous reflux of the varicocele was obtained using the Valsalva maneuver during scrotal Doppler ultrasonography before microsurgical varicocelectomy.Using this software,the colored reflux signals were segmented,and the gray scale of the color pixels representing the reflux velocity was comprehensively quantified into the mean reflux velocity of the green layer(MRVG)and the reflux velocity standard deviation of the green layer(RVSDG).Spontaneous pregnancy and changes from baseline in the semen parameters were assessed during a 12-month follow-up period.Data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis.An association of the high MRVG group with impaired progressive motility(odds ratio[OR]=2.868,95%confidence interval[CI]:1.133–7.265)and impaired sperm concentration(OR=2.943,95%CI:1.196–7.239)was found during multivariate analysis.High MRVG(OR=2.680,95%CI:1.086–6.614)and high RVSDG(OR=2.508,95%CI:1.030–6.111)were found to be independent predictors of failure to achieve pregnancy following microsurgical repair.In summary,intense venous reflux is an independent predictor of impaired progressive motility,sperm concentration,and pregnancy outcomes after microsurgical varicocelectomy.

Responsive hyperbranched poly(formyl-1,2,3-triazole)s toward quadruple-modal information security protection

Secrecy has received tremendous attention in modern information society. Innovative polymer-based fluorescent materials with multiple mode emission are quite desirable to achieve multistage data security. Herein, a series of soluble and thermally stable hyperbranched poly(formyl-1,2,3-triazole)s(hb-PFTAs) with high molecular weights were facilely prepared by catalyst-free polycycloaddition of aldehyde-activated internal triyne and diazides. Functional moieties of triphenylamine and binaphthyl could be incorporated into the polymers to offer them with unique fluorescence and circular dichroism properties, respectively.By taking advantage of activated ethynyl and aldehyde groups on their peripheries and in the internal branch chains, the hbPFTAs can undergo efficient single-and double-stage post-functionalization. More importantly, based on the remarkable fluorescence responses to hydrazine and hydrochloric acid, the hyperbranched polymers are featured with triple-mode fluorescent patterns and have been applied in quadruple-modal information encryption and storage with enhanced security and density. Collectively, this work not only enriches the structural diversity of the existing triazole-based material library, but also provides new polymeric materials for data and information security application.

Microstructure Characteristic and Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior of Surface Nano-crystallization Modified Carbon Steel

The surface nano-crystallization （SNC） of carbon steel was achieved via a high-speed rotating wire-brush- ing process. Microstructure characteristics of SNC steel were systematically studied. The SNC steel surface exhibited marked deformed plastic flows and high surface roughness. Due to the accumulated strains, a deformed gradient lay er with thickness of 40-50 μm was produced, and the grain size of the topmost zone was about 50-100 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis indicated that enhanced Fe oxides and Cr oxides were generated. Electrochemical corrosion tests, including open circuit potential （OCP）, electrochemical impendence spectroscopy （EIS）, potentiodynamic polarization （PDP） and potentiostatic polarization （PP） were conducted to study the corrosion be- havior of SNC steel in 3.5 mass% NaC1 solution, where an improved corrosion resistance was observed. The resulted improvement resulted from the dominated positive effects （the attached Cr alloying element and enhanced oxide film） against the negative effects （the higher roughness and the improved corrosion activity of surface microstructure）.