To compare the postoperative optical quality in eyes with customized selection and random selection of aspheric intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.
A prospective, nonrandomized study was implemented ...in adult cataract patients who underwent unilateral phacoemulsification with aspheric IOL implantation. Patients were allocated into two treatment groups: a customized group and a control group. In the customized group, the aspheric IOL selection was based on the corneal spherical aberration to enable the postoperative target ocular spherical aberration closest to zero; in the control group, the aspheric IOLs were chosen using a random strategy. Primary outcome measurements included the following objective optical quality assessments: higher-order aberrations obtained by a Hartmann-shack aberrometer at 4 mm and 6 mm pupil diameters; objective scatter index (OSI), modulation transfer function (MTF) cut-off, Strehl ratio (SR) and a simulated contrast visual acuity-optical quality analysis system value (OV) obtained by a double-pass system with a 4-mm aperture. Subjective visual acuity was measured as secondary outcome. All the patients were followed up for 3 months.
Eighty-four patients in the customized group and 78 patients in the control group were evaluated. There was no significant difference in postoperative visual acuity between the two groups (P > 0.05). Significantly less ocular higher-order aberrations were shown in the customized group (P < 0.05). No significant difference was shown in OSI, MTF cut-off, SR and OV between the two groups (P > 0.05).
Although customized selection of aspheric IOL implantation showed less postoperative ocular aberrations, it performed similarly to random selection of aspheric IOL implantation in terms of postoperative visual acuity, simulated contrast visual acuity, intraocular scatter, modulation transfer function and Strehl ratio.
Retrospectively registered on 07/06/2019. Registration number: ChiCTR1900024356 .
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease caused by a novel bunyavirus. Previous studies about risk factors for SFTSV infection have yielded inconsistent ...results, and behavior factors have not been fully clarified.
A community-based, 1:4 matched case-control study was carried out to investigate the risk factors for SFTS in China. Cases of SFTS were defined as laboratory-confirmed cases that tested positive for real-time PCR (RT-PCR) for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus (SFTSV) or positive for IgM antibodies against SFTSV. Controls of four neighborhood subjects were selected by matching for sex, age, and occupation. Standardized questionnaires were used to collect detailed information about their demographics and risk factors for SFTSV infection.
A total of 334 subjects participated in the study including 69 cases and 265 controls. The median age of the cases was 59.5 years, 55.1% were male, and 87.0% were farmers. No differences in demographics were observed between cases and controls. In the final multivariate analysis, tick bites two weeks prior to disease onset (OR = 8.04, 95%CI 3.34-19.37) and the presence of weeds and shrubs around the house (OR = 3.46, 95%CI 0.96-12.46) were found to be risk factors for SFTSV infection; taking preventative measures during outdoor activities (OR = 0.12, 95%CI 0.01-1.01) provided greater protection from SFTSV infection.
Our results further confirm that SFTSV is transmitted by tick bites and prove that preventative measures that reduce exposure to ticks can prevent SFTSV infection. More efforts should be directed toward health education and behavior change for high-risk populations, especially outdoor workers, in SFTS endemic areas.
Acute rejection (AR) of an organ transplant is a life-threatening complication. Currently, there are few diagnostic biomarkers suitable for clinical application. We aim to determine the potential of ...plasma microRNAs as biomarkers for AR.
Using rat orthotopic liver transplantation model and microarrays, we compared the difference in the spectrum and levels of microRNAs in both plasma and grafts between AR rats and control. AR-related plasma microRNAs were selected and validated using real-time quantification polymerase chain reaction. Plasma from AR rats with or without tacrolimus treatment was used for microRNA dynamic monitoring. To clarify the origin of AR-related plasma microRNAs, drug-induced liver damage rat model were performed and in situ hybridization was used to detect and localize the specific microRNA in allografts.
We found that plasma miR-122, miR-192, and miR-146a was significantly up-regulated when AR occur (fold change>2; P<0.05) and the elevation could be repressed by immunosuppression. In liver injury rat model, up-regulated plasma miR-122 (fold change=22.126; P=0.002) and miR-192 (fold change=8.833; P<0.001) rather than miR-146a (fold change=1.181; P=0.594) were observed. Further study demonstrated that miR-146a was up-regulated by sixfold in microvesicles isolated from AR plasma, whereas miR-122 and miR-192 showed no distinct change. In situ hybridization revealed that the portal areas of the AR graft were brimming with lymphocytes, which showed highly intense staining for miR-146a.
Our study provides the global fingerprint of plasma microRNAs in AR rats and suggests that plasma miR-122 and miR-192 reflect liver injury, whereas miR-146a may associate with cellular rejection.
AIMTo compare the visual performance of pseudophakic eyes implanted with A1-UV and SN60WF aspheric intraocular lens (IOL), and to investigate the correlations between visual quality parameters and ...pupil size. METHODSThis prospective comparative study included 105 eyes of 90 patients with age-related cataract who underwent uneventful phacoemulsification. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the implanted IOL type. Three months postoperatively, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were measured, wave-front aberrations were assessed using a KR-1W aberrometer (Topcon), and objective optical quality parameters were performed using an optical quality analysis system-OQAS II (Visiometrics). Independent sample t-test and Spearman correlation analysis were used for data analysis. RESULTSThere were no significant differences found in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and visual quality parameters between the two groups (P>0.05). The measured intraocular spherical aberration (SA) in A1-UV IOL eyes of -0.19±0.05 µm was close to the designed SA value of -0.20 µm. The modulation transfer function cutoff, Strehl ratio and OQAS values were negatively correlated with pupil size in both groups (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONThe subjective and objective visual quality in pseudophakic eyes with A1-UV and SN60WF IOLs are comparable. For aspheric IOL eyes, visual quality decreases with increasing pupil size.
To investigate the effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on retinol dehydrogenase 5 (RDH5), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2) transcription levels, and ...the effect of RDH5 on MMP-2 and TGF-β2 in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells.
After adult RPE cell line-19 (ARPE-19 cells) intervened with gradient concentrations of ATRA (0-20 µmol/L) for 24h, flow cytometry was used to detect the proliferation and apoptosis of cells in each group, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect RDH5, MMP-2 and TGF-β2 mRNA expression. Then, after ARPE-19 cells transfected with three different siRNA targets for 48h, the RDH5 knockdown efficiency of each group and expression of MMP-2 and TGF-β2 mRNA within them was detected by qRT-PCR.
Flow cytometry results showed that ATRA could inhibit the proliferation of RPE cells and promote the apoptosis of RPE cells, and the difference of apoptosis was statistically significant when the ATRA concentration exceeded 5 µmol/L and compared with the normal control group (
=0.027 and
=0.031, respectively). qRT-PCR results showed that ATRA could significantly inhibit the expression level of RDH5 mRNA (
<0.001) and promote the expression of MMP-2 and TGF-β2 mRNA (
=0.03 and
<0.001, respectively) in a dose-dependent manner, especially when treated with 5 µmol/L ATRA. The knockdown efficiency of RDH5 siRNA varies with different targets, among which RDH5 siRNA-435 had the highest knockdown efficiency,
, more than 50% lower than that of the negative control group (
=0.02). When RDH5 was knocked down for 48h, the results of qRT-PCR showed that the expressions of MMP-2 and TGF-β2 mRNA were significantly up-regulated (
<0.001).
ATRA inhibits the expression of RDH5 and promotes MMP-2 and TGF-β2, and further RDH5 knockdown significantly upregulates MMP-2 and TGF-β2. These findings suggest that RDH5 may be involved in an epithelial-mesenchymal transition of RPE cells mediated by ATRA.
Hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) have attracted significant attention due to the profound manipulation of the photonic density of states, resulting in the efficient optoelectronic devices with the ...enhanced light–matter interaction. HMMs are conventionally built on rigid large-size substrates with poor conformability and the absence of flexibility. Here, we demonstrate a grating collageable HMM (GCHMM), which is composed of eight alternating layers of Au and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and PMMA grating nanostructure containing quantum dots (QDs). The QDs serve as a scattering gain medium performing a random laser action, and the grating nanostructure enhances the extraction of light from QDs. The GCHMM enhances laser action by 13 times, reduces lasing threshold by 46%, and increases differential quantum efficiency by 1.8 times as compared to a planar collageable HMM. In addition, the GCHMM can be retransferred multiple times to other substrates as well as provide sufficient protection in water and still retain an excellent performance. It also shows stable functionality even when transferred to a dental floss. The GCHMM, therefore, promises to become a versatile platform for foldable, adaptable, free-standing, and water-resistant optoelectronic device applications.
Liver transplantation (LT) is one of the best therapeutic options for nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Unfortunately, some HCC patients succumb to the disease after LT, which reduces ...long‐ and medium‐term survival. To identify the proteins associated with HCC invasion and metastasis, HCC patients undergoing LT with complete follow‐up data were included in this study and were categorized into recurrence and nonrecurrence groups. We extracted the total protein from the acquired homogeneous tumor cells and applied a cleavable isotope‐coded affinity tag technology to quantitate relative changes in protein levels between the two groups. We identified a total of 149 proteins with two‐dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, including 52 differentially expressed proteins by at least two‐fold. Among them, calpain small subunit 1 (Capn4), a protein with relevant interactions with many migration–invasion‐related proteins, has attracted more attention. First, Capn4 overexpression in the recurrence group was confirmed via real‐time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting in another cohort of 40 HCC patients undergoing LT. Second, Capn4 was associated with enhanced invasiveness in vitro. The small interfering RNA–mediated knockdown expression of Capn4 in HCC cell lines significantly inhibited its mobile and invasive ability. Tissue microarray in a further 192 cases revealed that Capn4 significantly correlated with invasive phenotype of HCC, and univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that Capn4 is an independent prognostic factor for recurrence and survival of HCC patients. Conclusion: Our study revealed that Capn4 overexpression underlies invasion and metastasis after LT for HCC and might be a candidate biomarker for future diagnosis and a target for therapy. (HEPATOLOGY 2008.)
The electronic and chemical properties of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) can be modulated by chemical doping foreign atoms and functional moieties. Nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-RGO) is a ...promising candidate for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells. However, there are still some challenges in further preparation and modification of N-RGO. In this work, a low-cost industrial material, urea, was chosen to modify RGO by a facile, catalyst-free thermal annealing approach in large scale. The obtained N-RGO, as a metal-free catalyst for oxygen reduction was characterized by XRD, XPS, Raman, SEM, TEM, and electrochemical measurements. It was found that the optimum synthesis conditions were a mass ratio of graphene oxide and urea equal to 1:10 and an annealing temperature of 800 °C. Detailed X-ray photoelectron spectrum analysis of the optimum product shows that the atomic percentage of N-RGO samples can be adjusted up to 2.6 %, and the resultant product can act as an efficient metal-free catalyst, exhibiting enhanced electrocatalytic properties for ORR in alkaline electrolytes. This simple, cost-effective, and scalable approach opens up the possibility for the synthesis of other nitrogen doping materials in gram-scale. It can be applied to various carbon materials for the development of other metal-free efficient ORR catalysts for fuel cell applications, and even new catalytic materials for applications beyond fuel cells.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may have the potential to prevent depressive relapse. This assessor-blinded, randomized controlled study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and ...safety of rTMS as a mono- and combination therapy in the prevention of depressive relapse/recurrence. A total of 281 depressed patients who had achieved stable full or partial remission on a 6-month antidepressant (ADP) run-in treatment were randomly assigned to an rTMS (n = 91), ADP (n = 108), or combined (rTMS + ADP, n = 82) treatment group for 12 months. Monthly clustered rTMS was conducted in 5-10 sessions over a 3-5-day period. Maintenance outcomes were assessed using time to relapse/recurrence and relapse/recurrence rate. Overall, 71.2% (200/281) of the participants completed the treatment per the protocol. rTMS + ADP and rTMS significantly reduced the risk of relapse/recurrence compared with ADP (P = 0.000), with hazard ratios of 0.297 and 0.466, respectively. Both rTMS-containing regimens produced significantly lower relapse/recurrence rates than ADP (15.9% and 24.2% vs. 44.4%, P < 0.001). In the relapsed/recurrent subgroup, first-episode depressed, rTMS-treated patients had a markedly lower relapse/recurrence rate than ADP-treated patients. Five patients on the ADP-containing regimens, but none on rTMS alone, developed acute mania. The rTMS-containing regimens had considerably more certain side effects than did the ADP group. We concluded that TMS, whether as a mono- or additional therapy, is superior to antidepressants in preventing depressive relapse/recurrence, particularly in first-episode depressed patients. The treatment does not increase the risk of manic switch, but may increase the risk of certain side effects.
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