Purpose To evaluate pulmonary arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV) derived from phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI in participants with suspected pulmonary hypertension (PH), assess its association with established markers, and investigate its prognostic value for 12-month mortality. Materials and Methods This post hoc analysis of a prospective multicenter Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Diagnosis Europe MRI (CHANGE MRI) study included participants with suspected chronic thromboembolic PH and complete PREFUL MRI between July 2016 and November 2023. PREFUL MRI-based two-dimensional images acquired at 1.5 T using spoiled gradient-echo sequences were used to calculate quantified perfusion, perfusion defect percentages, and PWV. Group comparisons were performed between PH and no PH and among PH groups using age- and sex-adjusted models (analysis of covariance framework). Spearman correlations with right heart catheterization and cardiac MRI parameters and associations with 12-month mortality were assessed using multivariable regression and Cox proportional hazard models. A P value less than .05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 632 participants (median age, 66 years; IQR, 22 years; 368 [58%] female) were included. Of these, 415 had confirmed PH, and 13 died within 12 months. PWV was higher in pulmonary arterial hypertension than in chronic thromboembolic PH (2.76 m/sec ± 1.32 vs 1.84 m/sec ± 1.29; P < .001). In participants with PH, PWV was associated with mortality (hazard ratio, 2.28 per SD increase [1.47 m/sec]; P < .001). PWV showed independent associations with right ventricular ejection fraction (β = -0.024 m/sec per percentage point; P < .001) and perfusion defect percentage (β = 0.014 m/sec per percentage point; P = .02). Conclusion Pulmonary arterial PWV derived from PREFUL MRI was higher in PH and independently associated with right ventricular function and 12-month mortality. Keywords: Functional Lung MRI, Pulmonary Arteries, Lung ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02791282 Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2026.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a broad class of multicomponent solvents that allow for tuning of properties through informed selection of constituent molecules. A comprehensive assessment of DES intermolecular interactions and their link to macroscopic attributes facilitates component selection. In this work, we employ infrared (IR) action spectroscopy in helium nanodroplets to characterize isolated halide-molecule clusters relevant to DESs. Complexes of urea, ethylene glycol, glycerol, and choline with chloride or bromide were generated by electrospray ionization, isolated in an ion trap, and captured in helium nanodroplets for spectroscopic characterization in the IR fingerprint region. For urea-chloride clusters, halide-molecule rather than molecule-molecule interactions dominate, resulting in a shallow potential energy surface with multiple orientations of the urea molecules differing primarily in their relative positioning. For clusters with strong competition between halide-molecule and intermolecular hydrogen bonding, as in glycerol-halide clusters, the potential energy surface becomes more complex, featuring multiple low-energy configurations with distinct hydrogen-bonding networks. Choline-chloride clusters exhibit possible two-point (OH + CH) and three-point (3CH) halide coordination motifs. Comparison to condensed-phase DES FT-IR spectra reveals distinctions between isolated clusters and bulk solution, highlighting the importance of assessing both intermolecular and halide-molecule interactions to accurately represent macroscopic DES structure.

Reliable and accurate measurement of the quantity and density distribution of surface charges on dielectric materials is critically important across numerous fields. However, due to its inherent measurement principles, the widely adopted KPFM technique faces significant challenges in accurately deriving surface charge density from surface potential measurements on dielectric surfaces. To address this issue, this paper establishes both a theoretical model and a two-dimensional simulation model to mimic the actual surface potential measurement of KPFM on dielectric surfaces. The validity of the simulation model is partially supported by both the KPFM measurements and the theoretical analysis. Theoretical analysis and numerical calculations reveal that the theoretical formula based on the parallel-plate capacitor model is only valid for quantifying the relationship between the surface potential and charge density on uniformly charged, infinitely extended dielectric surfaces. For finite charged surfaces, the measured potential is strongly influenced by factors including the lateral size of the charged region, probe height, sample thickness, relative permittivity, and nearby surface charges. By fitting simulation results, we derive an analytical expression for the measured potential distribution above a point charge. Based on this expression, we propose a method to reconstruct the surface charge density distribution from measured potential data.

An important quantity in liquid state theory is the radial distribution function g(r). It can be calculated within the framework of classical density functional theory in two very distinct ways. In the test-particle route, one fixes a single fluid particle, turning it into an external potential in which the inhomogeneous structure of the fluid is calculated by minimizing the functional. The second route to g(r) in density functional theory employs the Ornstein-Zernike equation and the pair direct correlation function, that can be obtained from the second functional derivatives of the excess (over the ideal gas) free energy functional. Since typically an approximate excess free energy functional is employed, the test-particle route, which requires only one functional derivative, is more accurate than the Ornstein-Zernike route. Here we study a two-dimensional core-shoulder particle system and find that in some circumstances the results from the Ornstein-Zernike route can be comparable in accuracy to the test-particle results for r > σ, the core diameter. We also examine in detail the asymptotic r → ∞ decay of g(r), finding a variety of possible decay wavelengths at different state points and state points where there is a crossover from one wavelength to a very different one. This behavior is a signature pointing to the rich phase behavior of the incipient solid phases.

Water confined in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films exhibits enhanced basicity toward embedded chromophores, yet whether this anomalous reactivity reflects a broader acid-base duality remains unexplored. Here, using 5-methoxyflavone (5MF) as a photobase probe whose C═O stretch is spectrally isolated in FTIR, we uncover that short hydrogen bonds (SHBs) render the same confined water capable of protonating 5MF without external acid. In low-water-content PVA films, the C═O stretch of 5MF red-shifts substantially, confirming SHB formation. Time-resolved fluorescence reveals two protonated emission bands with identical, short lifetimes, distinct from the long-lived free cation in acidic films─pointing to a tightly bound 5MFH+···OH- complex rather than free 5MFH+. DFT calculations suggest that the distinct emissions can be rationalized as two limiting wave function distributions of the same proton undergoing quantum delocalization within the SHB. This unified SHB picture resolves the conflicting acid-base behaviors of confined water and highlights the potential of PVA films as versatile platforms for exploring acid-base phenomena enabled by nanoconfinement.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) lacks disease-modifying therapies, and how epitranscriptomic regulation drives central sensitization remains unclear. In the present study focusing on paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy (PIPN), we identified a METTL3-circRNA axis in the spinal dorsal horn wherein upregulated METTL3 expanded the m6A-modified circMtmr7 pool in paclitaxel-treated mice. Accordingly in paclitaxel-treated mice, upregulated METTL3 paralleled elevated m6A-circMtmr7 expression; METTL3 knockdown prevented the paclitaxel-evoked rise in m6A-circMtmr7, normalized miniature excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) amplitude and frequency, as well as neuronal firing rates, and alleviated mechanical allodynia. Mechanistically circMtmr7 operated via two convergent branches to upregulate the effector NUFIP2: (i) in the cytoplasm it served as a microRNA (miRNA) sponge for miR-7010-5p, miR-3057-5p and miR-26b-3p, relieving repression and increasing NUFIP2; (ii) in the nucleus it associated with STAT5A to enhance NUFIP2 transcription, and silencing STAT5A reversed neuronal hyperexcitability and attenuated nociceptive behaviours. Genetic or pharmacological manipulation of METTL3, circMtmr7, STAT5A or NUFIP2 bidirectionally modulated neuronal excitability and nociceptive hypersensitivity. Collectively these data establish an m6A-dependent writer-circRNA-transcription factor hub that couples post-transcriptional and transcriptional programmes to amplify excitatory drive in PIPN, suggesting that STAT5A and NUFIP2 represent candidate targets for therapeutic development. KEY POINTS: In paclitaxel-treated mice, spinal dorsal horn METTL3 is upregulated, expanding the m6A-modified circMtmr7 pool to drive central sensitization in paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy. circMtmr7 convergently upregulates NUFIP2 by acting as a cytoplasmic microRNA (miRNA) sponge and by associating with nuclear STAT5A to enhance transcription, thereby amplifying neuronal excitability. Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of METTL3, circMtmr7, STAT5A or NUFIP2 alleviates paclitaxel-induced nociceptive hypersensitivity.