To evaluate the safety and efficacy of sutureless intrascleral intraocular lens (IOL) fixation combined with modified iris cerclage pupilloplasty for treating aphakia and traumatic mydriasis.
Five ...patients with aphakia and traumatic mydriasis were operated on by the same surgeon. All patients underwent sutureless intrascleral IOL fixation combined with modified iris cerclage pupilloplasty and were followed up for ≥6 months. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was measured using the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR). BCVA, intraocular pressure (IOP), pupil diameter, and corneal endothelial cell count (CECC) preoperatively and postoperatively were statistically analyzed. The pupil shape, photophobia, IOL position, and surgical complications were evaluated.
The mean BCVA was significantly improved 6 months postoperatively (0.26 ± 0.17 logMAR, P = 0.042) than preoperatively (0.50 ± 0.30 logMAR). No significant difference was observed between the preoperative and postoperative IOP (P = 0.138). The mean pupil diameter significantly reduced postoperatively than preoperatively (3.44 ± 0.35 mm vs. 7.28 ± 0.35 mm, P = 0.043). There was no significant decrease in CECC postoperatively (P = 0.225). The pupil shape was round-like, and photophobia disappeared in all patients. No intraoperative or postoperative complications occurred.
Sutureless intrascleral IOL fixation combined with modified iris cerclage pupilloplasty is a safe and efficient procedure for treating aphakia traumatic mydriasis patients without sufficient capsular support.
The noncircular synchronous belt drive mechanism has demonstrated certain achievements and has been used in special fields. Research regarding noncircular synchronous belt drive mechanisms has ...focused on optimization design and kinematic analysis in China, whereas two pulley noncircular synchronous belt transmissions have been developed overseas. However, owing to the noncircular characteristics of the belt pulley, the real-time variation in the belt length slack during the transmission of the noncircular synchronous belt is significant, resulting in high probabilities of skipping and vibration. In this study, a noncircular tensioning pulley is added to create a stable three-pulley noncircular synchronous belt driving mechanism and a good synchronous belt tensioning, with no skipping; hence, the non-uniform output characteristic of the driven pulley is consistent with the theoretical value. In the circular noncircular noncircular three-pulley noncircular synchronous belt mechanism, the pitch curve of the driving synchronous belt pulley is circular, whereas those of the driven synchronous belt and tensioning pulleys are noncircular. To minimize the slack of the belt length of the synchronous belt and the constraint of the concavity and circumference of the tensioning pulley, an automatic optimization model of the tensioning pulley pitch curve is established. The motion simulation, analysis, and optimization code for a three-belt-pulley noncircular synchronous belt drive mechanism is written, and the variation in belt length slack under different speed ratios is analyzed based on several examples. The testbed for a circular–noncircular–noncircular three-pulley noncircular synchronous belt transmission mechanism is developed. The test shows that the three-pulley noncircular synchronous belt drives well. This study proposes an automatic optimization algorithm for the tensioning pulley pitch curve of a noncircular synchronous belt transmission mechanism; it yields a stable transmission of the noncircular synchronous belt transmission mechanism as well as non-uniform output characteristics.
Four-bar linkage has been used in motion generation synthesis for a long time, but there are inevitably some shortcomings such as order defects and poor design flexibility. In this work, a planetary ...gear train with noncircular gears is proposed to realize planar motion generation synthesis. Compared with the four-bar linkage, it has the advantages of a compact structure, full rotatability, and flexible design. The planetary gear train with noncircular gears is composed of two interrelated parts: a two-stage noncircular gear pair and the
RR
dyad. The synthesis method is divided mainly into three steps: First, the constraint equation of
RR
dyad for planar motion generation is established, and a solution region of the double revolute joint (
RR
) dyads is calculated by kinematic mapping theory. Second, after the full rotatability identification of
RR
dyads and the determination of each transmission ratio, the centrodes of two-stage noncircular gear pairs, which correspond to the specific
RR
dyad, are obtained. Finally, the planetary gear train with noncir-cular gears is established to pass the given poses. This method has a universal significance and can be applied to many practical cases.
Introduction
This study aimed to evaluate the combined administration of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs before and during pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and to explore its ...efficacy and safety in the treatment of patients with severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).
Methods
This retrospective case series included consecutive patients who underwent PPV. Patients were categorized into two groups: the preoperative group was injected with anti-VEGF drugs before PPV, and the combination group was injected with anti-VEGF drugs before and during PPV. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative clinical data were collected for analysis. The main outcome measures were changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) and occurrence of postoperative vitreous cavity haemorrhage (POVCH).
Results
In total, 63 eyes of 60 patients with severe PDR were analysed. The operative duration and occurrence of intraoperative haemorrhage, iatrogenic retinal breaks, and silicone oil tamponade were similar between the two groups. The benefits on BCVA, and CRT after 1 week postoperatively, were more obvious in the combination group (
P
< 0.01). Combination therapy had the potential to reduce the incidence of POVCH. No ocular or systemic adverse events occurred in either group.
Conclusions
The combined use of anti-VEGF drugs before and during PPV in patients with severe PDR not only includes the advantages of preoperative injection, but also has more significant prognostic benefits and favourable safety profiles.
In the current study, a duplex PCR-ELISA method was developed targeting the specific genes, invA of Salmonella spp. and rfbE of Escherichia coli O157: H7, to detect one or both bacteria in food. In ...brief, PCR product amplified by PCR primer labeled with digoxin at the 5′-end and a probe labeled with biotin at the 3′-end can form dimer by nucleic acid hybridization which can be captured by binding of biotin to streptomycin coated in ELISA plate before using enzyme-labeled anti-digoxin antibody and substrate to develop color. Also, evaluation of the duplex PCR-ELISA method was conducted in different food samples including milk, juice, cabbage, shrimp, chicken, pork and beef. Results indicated that the duplex PCR-ELISA developed here was specific when using 25 non-target bacteria strains as controls and was sensitive with a limit of detection (LOD) of 1 CFU/mL, 1, 000 times higher than that of the duplex PCR method and was repeatable regardless of inter- and intra-batch variations. The duplex PCR-ELISA method established in the present study has proven to be highly specific, sensitive and repeatable. It has the potential to be applied in such fields as clinical diagnosis of food-borne diseases, food hygiene monitoring and pathogen detection in food.
•PCR-ELISA was used for simultaneous detection of Salmonella spp. and E. coli. O157.•PCR-ELISA was three orders of magnitude higher when compared to PCR method.•PCR-ELISA established here was characteristic of rapid, sensitive, specific and repeatable.
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•LW-XG was safe to Caco-2 cells and normal mice.•Body weight gain increased from 10.78 ± 2.15 g to 13.28 ± 1.97 g.•LW-XG increased short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) contents in the ...cecum of mice.•LW-XG increased the abundance and diversity of gut microbiota.•Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio increased from 0.3547 to 1.5371.
Properties of thickening, emulsification and suspension make xanthan gum is widely used in foods and other industries, but effects of xanthan oligosaccharide or low molecular weight xanthan gum (LW-XG) on the nutrition of human body are rarely investigated. Presently, body weight regulation effect of a LW-XG on male mice was assayed. Results showed that LW-XG was safe to Caco-2 cells and mice, and increased mice body weight gain from 10.78 ± 2.15 g to 13.28 ± 1.97 g. Meanwhile, the acetate, propionate, butyrate and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) contents increased from 25.13 ± 1.28 μmol/g, 11.28 ± 0.81 μmol/g, 7.85 ± 0.43 μmol/g and 44.26 ± 1.85 μmol/g to 41.76 ± 1.08 μmol/g, 19.84 ± 0.97 μmol/g, 12.58 ± 0.26 μmol/g and 74.18 ± 1.72 μmol/g, respectively. Furthermore, LW-XG increased the abundance and diversity of gut microbiota, and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was significantly increased from 0.3547 to 1.5371.
Previously, a polysaccharide produced by Chaetomiumglobosum CGMCC 6882 was found to have antibacterial activity, but its toxic effects on body health and gut microbiota were concealed. Recent results ...showed that this polysaccharide was safe to Caco-2 cells and mice, while it reduced the body weight gain of mice from 10.5 ± 1.21 g to 8.4 ± 1.17 g after 28 days administration. Acetate, propionate, butyrate and total short-chain fatty acids concentrations increased from 23.85 ± 1.37 μmol/g, 10.23 ± 0.78 μmol/g, 7.15 ± 0.35 μmol/g and 41.23 ± 0.86 μmol/g to 42.77 ± 1.29 μmol/g, 20.03 ± 1.44 μmol/g, 12.06 ± 0.51 μmol/g and 74.86 ± 2.07 μmol/g, respectively. Furthermore, this polysaccharide enriched the abundance of gut microbiota and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was increased from 0.5172 to 0.7238. Overall, this study provides good guidance for the promising application of polysaccharides as preservatives in foods and in other fields in the future.
The detection of dopamine (DA) has received enormous attention since it is widely recognized as an important neurotransmitter associated with nerve signaling and some diseases. In this work, ...glucose‐derived carbon nanospheres (CNs) are synthesized by the green hydrothermal approach and are served to modify electrodes for the detection of DA. The CNs were successfully synthesized and were investigated in detail by various characterization technologies. The CNs modified glassy carbon electrode (CNs/GCE) exhibits better electrochemical sensing performance with a wide linear range of 0.05–1600 μM and a low limit of 8.3 nM for determination of DA, as compared with the modified electrodes reported previously. The CNs/GCE was successfully applied to detect DA in human serum samples, which makes it promising for a variety of biomedical applications. More importantly, this work shows a novel green and simple strategy for the development of cost‐effective and high‐performance sensing materials, which provides more opportunities for design of electrochemical sensors with future capabilities of mass production in practical applications.
Sweet nanospheres: Glucose‐derived carbon nanospheres (CNs) synthesized by a simple hydrothermal approach were employed for electrochemical determination of dopamine. The CNs‐modified glassy carbon electrode exhibits excellent sensing performance and satisfactory results when applied in human serum samples, making it promising for biomedical applications.
Composting is a complex biodegradable process that converts organic materials into nutrients to facilitate crop yields, and, if well managed, can render bactericidal effects. Majority of research ...focused on detection of enteric pathogens, such as Shiga toxin-producing
(STEC) in fecal composts. Recently, attention has been emphasized on bacteriophages, such as STEC-specific bacteriophages, associated with STEC from the fecal-contaminated environment because they are able to sustain adverse environmental condition during composting process. However, little is known regarding the isolation of STEC-specific bacteriophages in non-fecal composts. Thus, the objectives were to isolate and genomically characterize STEC-specific bacteriophages, and to evaluate its association with STEC in non-fecal composts. For bacteriophage isolation, the samples were enriched with non-pathogenic
(3 strains) and STEC (14 strains), respectively. After purification, host range, plaque size, and phage morphology were examined. Furthermore, bacteriophage genomes were subjected to whole-genome sequencing using Illumina MiSeq and genomic analyses. Isolation of top six non-O157 and O157 STEC utilizing culture methods combined with PCR-based confirmation was also conducted. The results showed that various STEC-specific bacteriophages, including vB_EcoM-Ro111lw, vB_EcoM-Ro121lw, vB_EcoS-Ro145lw, and vB_EcoM-Ro157lw, with different but complementary host ranges were isolated. Genomic analysis showed the genome sizes varied from 42kb to 149kb, and most bacteriophages were unclassified at the genus level, except vB_EcoM-Ro111lw as FelixO1-like viruses. Prokka predicted less than 25% of the ORFs coded for known functions, including those essential for DNA replication, bacteriophage structure, and host cell lysis. Moreover, none of the bacteriophages harbored lysogenic genes or virulence genes, such as
or
. Additionally, the presence of these lytic bacteriophages was likely attributed to zero isolation of STEC and could also contribute to additional antimicrobial effects in composts, if the composting process was insufficient. Current findings indicate that various STEC-specific bacteriophages were found in the non-fecal composts. In addition, the genomic characterization provides in-depth information to complement the deficiency of biological features regarding lytic cycle of the new bacteriophages. Most importantly, these bacteriophages have great potential to control various serogroups of STEC.
Lytic bacteriophages are re-considered as a solution to resolve antibiotic-resistant rampage. Despite frequent foodborne outbreaks caused by the top six non-O157 Shiga-toxin-producing
(STEC), the ...current interventions are not sufficiently effective against each serogroup, particularly O45. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize a new short-tailed phage, vB_EcoP-Ro45lw (or Ro45lw), as an alternative antimicrobial agent for STEC O45 strains. Phage Ro45lw belongs to the
genus within the
family and shares no close evolutionary relationship with any reference phages. Ro45lw contains a tail structure composed of a unique tail fiber and tail tubular proteins A and B, likely to produce enzymatic activity against the target bacterial cells besides structural function. Additionally, the phage genome does not contain virulent, antibiotic-resistant, or lysogenic genes. The phage has a latent period of 15 min with an estimated burst size of 55 PFU/CFU and is stable at a wide range of pH (pH4 to pH11) and temperatures (30 °C to 60 °C). Regardless of the MOIs (MOI = 0.1, 1, and 10) used, Ro45lw has a strong antimicrobial activity against both environmental (
O45:H-) and clinical (
O45:H2) strains at 25 °C. These findings indicate that phage Ro45lw has antimicrobial potential in mitigating pathogenic STEC O45 strains.
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