To compare the safety and efficacy of different concentrations of atropine eyedrops in controlling myopia progression over 5 years.
Randomized, double-masked clinical trial.
A total of 400 children ...originally randomized to receive atropine 0.5%, 0.1%, or 0.01% once daily in both eyes in a 2:2:1 ratio.
Children received atropine for 24 months (phase 1), after which medication was stopped for 12 months (phase 2). Children who had myopia progression (≥-0.50 diopters D in at least 1 eye) during phase 2 were restarted on atropine 0.01% for a further 24 months (phase 3).
Change in spherical equivalent and axial length over 5 years.
There was a dose-related response in phase 1 with a greater effect in higher doses, but an inverse dose-related increase in myopia during phase 2 (washout), resulting in atropine 0.01% being most effective in reducing myopia progression at 3 years. Some 24%, 59%, and 68% of children originally in the atropine 0.01%, 0.1%, and 0.5% groups, respectively, who progressed in phase 2 were restarted on atropine 0.01%. Younger children and those with greater myopic progression in year 1 were more likely to require re-treatment. The lower myopia progression in the 0.01% group persisted during phase 3, with overall myopia progression and change in axial elongation at the end of 5 years being lowest in this group (-1.38±0.98 D; 0.75±0.48 mm) compared with the 0.1% (-1.83±1.16 D, P = 0.003; 0.85±0.53 mm, P = 0.144) and 0.5% (-1.98±1.10 D, P < 0.001; 0.87±0.49 mm, P = 0.075) groups. Atropine 0.01% also caused minimal pupil dilation (0.8 mm), minimal loss of accommodation (2-3 D), and no near visual loss compared with higher doses.
Over 5 years, atropine 0.01% eyedrops were more effective in slowing myopia progression with less visual side effects compared with higher doses of atropine.
This study aims to overcome the technology difficulties, especially considering the stability of the borehole of the reservoir formation when drilling in marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) bearing ...deposit under low temperature conditions and to develop the suitable working fluids using the calcium-Based bentonite clay (Ca-Bt) modified in the presence of nanosilica. It is found that the Ca-Bt modified by nanosilica (nano-Bt) has the higher moisture adsorption capability, the mud yield, and the cation exchange capacity (CEC) than sodium-based bentonite (Na-Bt) as well as the most suitable ratio of the amounts of nanosilica to Bt was gotten, which is helpful for the determination of nano-Bt clay modification. The comparing evaluation experimental tests of the drilling fluids show that the formulae using nano-Bt instead of Na-Bt have the higher viscosities (AV and PV), lower filtration loss (FL), and the almost same densities. Furthermore, the optimal fluid formulae using nano-Bt for low temperature marine NGH formation drilling were obtained as: Nano-Bt (1.2 wt%) + PEG (2 wt%) + NaCl (2 wt%) + CaCO3 (0.05 wt%) + Lv-CMC (0.5 wt%), with AV of 26.8 mPa·s, PV of 24.6 mPa·s, density of 0.992 kg/m3, FL of 9.1 ml and YP of 2.6. Moreover, the filtration films formed show the denser and the thinner (0.98 ± 0.1 mm) properties which implies the low solid phase content in the fluids could play the sufficient role in protecting the borehole of NGH bearing sediment from instability with the permeability decreasing to 1.97 × 10−2 μm2. Besides, the principle of the improvement of the characteristics of the bentonite clay modified by nanosilica was analyzed and a new structure of the flocculence-like with certain elastic characteristics on the surface of the Bt clay particles was proposed by observing the filtration films dried under 5000 times electron microscope, which provides the potential understanding for the effects on the drilling fluids films by nanosilica. This experimental tests results are expected to provide the modified bentonite clay materials with the new style structure and the reference of the circulation fluids formula for drilling and sampling in marine NGH bearing formation especially considering the stability of the borehole of deep sea reservoir sediment.
•A new type bentonite clay was formed by nanosilica modification.•The super-thin filtration films were produced by modified clay.•A new flocculence-like structure on the surface of clay particles is proposed.
It is widely believed that magnetars could be born in core-collapse supernovae (SNe), binary neutron star (BNS) or binary white dwarf (BWD) mergers, or accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of white ...dwarfs. In this paper, we investigate whether magnetars could also be produced from neutron star-white dwarf (NSWD) mergers, motivated by FRB 180924-like fast radio bursts (FRBs) possibly from magnetars born in BNS/BWD/AIC channels suggested by Margalit et al. (2019). By a preliminary calculation, we find that NSWD mergers with unstable mass transfer could result in the NS acquiring an ultra-strong magnetic field via the dynamo mechanism due to differential rotation and convection or possibly via the magnetic flux conservation scenario of a fossil field. If NSWD mergers can indeed create magnetars, then such objects could produce at least a subset of FRB 180924-like FRBs within the framework of flaring magnetars, since the ejecta, local environments, and host galaxies of the final remnants from NSWD mergers resemble those of BNS/BWD/AIC channels. This NSWD channel is also able to well explain both the observational properties of FRB 180924-like and FRB 180916.J0158+65-like FRBs within a large range in local environments and host galaxies.
Doxorubicin is a commonly used anthracycline chemotherapeutic drug. Its application for treatment has been impeded by its cardiotoxicity as it is detrimental and fatal. DNA damage, cardiac ...inflammation, oxidative stress and cell death are the critical links in DOX‐induced myocardial injury. Previous studies found that TLR9‐related signalling pathways are associated with the inflammatory response of cardiac myocytes, mitochondrial dysfunction and cardiomyocyte death, but it remains unclear whether TLR9 could influence DOX‐induced heart injury. Our current data imply that DOX‐induced cardiotoxicity is ameliorated by TLR9 deficiency both in vivo and in vitro, manifested as improved cardiac function and reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and oxidative stress. Furthermore, the deletion of TLR9 rescued DOX‐induced abnormal autophagy flux in vivo and in vitro. However, the inhibition of autophagy by 3‐MA abolished the protective effects of TLR9 deletion on DOX‐induced cardiotoxicity. Moreover, TLR9 ablation suppressed the activation of p38 MAPK during DOX administration and may promote autophagy via the TLR9‐p38 MAPK signalling pathway. Our study suggests that the deletion of TLR9 exhibits a protective effect on doxorubicin‐induced cardiotoxicity by enhancing p38‐dependent autophagy. This finding could be used as a basis for the development of a prospective therapy against DOX‐induced cardiotoxicity.
The interindividual genetic variations in drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters influence the efficacy and toxicity of numerous drugs. As a fundamental element in precision medicine, ...pharmacogenomics, the study of responses of individuals to medication based on their genomic information, enables the evaluation of some specific genetic variants responsible for an individual’s particular drug response. In this article, we review the contributions of genetic polymorphisms to major individual variations in drug pharmacotherapy, focusing specifically on the pharmacogenomics of phase-I drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters. Substantial frequency differences in key variants of drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters, as well as their possible functional consequences, have also been discussed across geographic regions. The current effort illustrates the common presence of variability in drug responses among individuals and across all geographic regions. This information will aid health-care professionals in prescribing the most appropriate treatment aimed at achieving the best possible beneficial outcomes while avoiding unwanted effects for a particular patient.
Abstract
In this work, we propose an accreting stellar binary model for understanding the active periodic fast radio bursts (FRBs). The system consists of a stellar compact object (CO) and a donor ...star (DS) companion in an eccentric orbit, where the DS fills its own Roche lobe near the periastron. The CO accretes the material from the DS and then drives relativistic magnetic blobs. The interaction between the magnetic blobs and the stellar wind of the DS produces a pair of shocks. We find that both the reverse shock and the forward shock are likely to produce FRBs via the synchrotron maser mechanism. We show that this system can in principle sufficiently produce highly active FRBs with a long lifetime, and also can naturally explain the periodicity and the duty cycle of the activity that appeared in FRBs 180916 and 121102. The radio nebula excited by the long-term injection of magnetic blobs into the surrounding environment may account for the associated persistent radio source. In addiction, we discuss the possible multiwavelength counterparts of FRB 180916 in the context of this model. Finally, we encourage the search for FRBs in ultraluminous X-ray sources.
AbstractSediment transport is a geophysical phenomenon in which sediment particles are driven to move in streamwise and vertical directions by various forces. Almost all existing formulas of sediment ...transport were derived without considering vertical flows V, resulting in a large discrepancy between measured and predicted transport rates, as has been reported in the literature. This paper investigates the effect of vertical motion on sediment transport. It was found that upward fluid velocity increases particles’ mobility, and downward motion increases particles stability. Furthermore, the investigation showed that decelerating flows can promote upward flow and vice versa. New equations were developed to express the influence of vertical motion on sediment transport. A reasonably good agreement between measured and predicted sediment transport rates was achieved.
Summary Since the beginning of the 1980s, 33 emerging tick-borne agents have been identified in mainland China, including eight species of spotted fever group rickettsiae, seven species in the family ...Anaplasmataceae, six genospecies in the complex Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, 11 species of Babesia , and the virus causing severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome. In this Review we have mapped the geographical distributions of human cases of infection. 15 of the 33 emerging tick-borne agents have been reported to cause human disease, and their clinical characteristics have been described. The non-specific clinical manifestations caused by tick-borne pathogens present a major diagnostic challenge and most physicians are unfamiliar with the many tick-borne diseases that present with non-specific symptoms in the early stages of the illness. Advances in and application of modern molecular techniques should help with identification of emerging tick-borne pathogens and improve laboratory diagnosis of human infections. We expect that more novel tick-borne infections in ticks and animals will be identified and additional emerging tick-borne diseases in human beings will be discovered.
Summary
Suberin in roots acts as a physical barrier preventing water/mineral losses. In Arabidopsis, root suberization is regulated by abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene in response to nutrient ...stresses. ABA also mediates coordination between microbiota and root endodermis in mineral nutrient homeostasis. However, it is not known whether this regulatory system is common to plants in general, and whether there are other key molecule(s) involved.
We show that serotonin acts downstream of ABA in regulating suberization in rice and Arabidopsis and negatively regulates suberization in rice roots in response to salinity. We show that ABA represses transcription of the key gene (OsT5H) in serotonin biosynthesis, thus promoting root suberization in rice. Conversely, overexpression of OsT5H or supplementation with exogenous serotonin represses suberization and reduces tolerance to salt stress.
These results identify an ABA‐serotonin regulatory module controlling root suberization in rice and Arabidopsis, which is likely to represent a general mechanism as ABA and serotonin are ubiquitous in plants.
These findings are of significant importance to breeding novel crop varieties that are resilient to abiotic stresses and developing strategies for production of suberin‐rich roots to sequestrate more CO2, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.
1,4,5,8,9,12‐Hexaazatriphenylene (HAT) is one of the smallest polyheterocyclic aromatic building blocks for forming conjugated metal–organic frameworks (cMOFs). However, the strong inter‐molecular ...steric hindrance impedes the growth of HAT‐based cMOFs. Here we employ on‐surface synthesis to grow single‐layer two‐dimensional cMOFs of M3(HAT)2 (M=Ni, Fe, Co). Using scanning tunnelling microscopy and density‐functional theory (DFT) analysis, we resolve that the frameworks comprise a hexagonal lattice of HAT molecules and a Kagome lattice of metal atoms. The DFT analysis indicates that Ni, Co and Fe carry a magnetic moment of 1.1, 2.5, and 3.7 μB, respectively. We anticipate that the small π‐conjugated core of HAT and strong bidentate chelating coordination give rise to appealing electronic and magnetic properties.
1,4,5,8,9,12‐Hexaazatriphenylene (HAT)‐based two‐dimensional conjugated metal–organic frameworks of M3(HAT)2 (M=Fe, Ni, Co) were synthesized by means of an on‐surface self‐assembly protocol which effectively overcomes the strong inter‐molecular steric hindrance.
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