This study is a meta-analysis comparing the efficacy, predictability, and safety of correcting myopia via implantation of two types of phakic intraocular lens (PIOLs): the implantable collamer lens ...(ICL) and iris-fixed PIOL. The Cochrane library, Pubmed, and EMBASE were searched. Study selection, data exclusion, and quality assessment were performed by two independent observers. The pooled relative risk (RR), pooled standardized mean difference (SMD), and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to compare lenses. Seven studies, involving 511 eyes, were included. The pooled SMD in postoperative uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) comparing ICLs to iris-fixed PIOLs was -0.22 (95% CI, -0.58 to 0.13; P = .22). The pooled RR values of UDVA of 20/20 or better and of 20/40 or better comparing ICLs to iris-fixed PIOLs were 1.15 (95% CI, 0.89 to 1.47; P = .29) and 1.01 (95% CI, 0.95 to 1.08; P = .75), respectively. The pooled RR of loss of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) and gain in BSCVA comparing ICLs to iris-fixed PIOLs were 1.20 (95% CI, 0.24 to 6.00; P = .82) and 1.14 (95% CI, 0.89 to 1.48; P = .31), respectively. The pooled RR comparing ICLs to iris-fixed PIOLs was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.29 to 2.12; P = .63) for all reported complications and 2.80 (95% CI, 1.04 to 7.52; P = .04) for severe complications. The pooled RR of achieving a result within ± 0.5 D (diopter) of the intended target comparing ICLs to iris-fixed PIOLs was 1.35 (95% CI, 1.04 to 1.77; P = .03). Overall, there is no significant difference in efficacy between the two types of PIOLs or in safety, except that the ICL is associated with a greater incidence of severe complications, especially anterior subcapsular cataract, primarily in the Version 2 and Version 3 groups. However, ICL has better predictability.
Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a potential risk factor for developing insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, we studied the prevalence of HUA and associated ...risk factors in the population of two provinces in northern China.
Based on the research of Chinese Physiological Constant and Health Conditions conducted in 2008-2010, we enrolled 29,639 subjects in a randomized, stratified study in four sampling areas in Heilongjiang Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. We collected 13,140 serum samples to determine biochemical indicators including uric acid(UA), glucose, blood lipids, liver function, and renal function, and finally a representative sample of 8439 aged 18 years and older was determined. We also defined and stratified HUA, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and lipid abnormalities according to international guidelines.
There were significant differences in the UA levels between different genders and regions. The total prevalence of HUA is 13.7%. Men had a higher prevalence of HUA than women (21% vs. 7.9%; P < 0.0001). As age increased, HUA prevalence decreased in men but rose in women. The suburbs of big cities had the highest HUA prevalence (18.7%), and in high-prevalence areas the proportion of women with HUA also increased. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to filter out twelve HUA risk factors, including age, gender, residence, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, impaired fasting glucose, hypertension, obesity, abdominal obesity, CKD, drinking and sleeping. After adjusting for these factors, the odds ratio of HUA was 1.92 times higher in men than in women. Compared with agricultural and pastoral areas, the odds ratio of having HUA was 2.14 for participants in the suburbs of big cities and 1.57 in the center of big cities.
The prevalence of HUA is high in northern China. The differences in HUA prevalence by geographic region suggested that unbalanced economic development and health education, therefore HUA prevention measures should be strengthened to improve quality of life and reduce health care costs.
The effect of crystallization temperature on the micellar morphology of PCL‐b‐PEO block copolymers in water has been studied. It is found that the micellar morphology of PCLnPEO44 and PCLnPEO113 ...changes with crystallization temperature in different ways because of two competitive factors: perfection of the PCL crystals in the core and deformation of the soluble PEO block. For PCLnPEO44, perfection of the PCL crystals dominates the micellar morphology and lamellar micelles are formed at a higher crystallization temperature. For PCLnPEO113 the micellar morphology is mainly determined by the tethering density and spherical micelles or cylindrical micelles with a larger length/diameter ratio are formed at a higher crystallization temperature because of the larger tethering density.
This work describes the microphase separation behavior of poly(propylene monothiocarbonate)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PPMTC-b-PEO) block copolymers (BCPs), a type of new sulfur-containing block ...copolymer, induced by lithium bis-(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI). PPMTC-b-PEO BCPs with a fixed PEO block length but different PPMTC block lengths were synthesized and doped by LiTFSI. Temperature-variable small-angle X-ray scattering result indicates that microphase separation of the PPMTC-b-PEO BCPs can be induced by differential interactions with LiTFSI. However, the ability of LiTFSI to induce microphase separation in PPMTC-b-PEO BCPs does not monotonically increase with the doping ratio (r = Li+/(EO + PMTC)). It is observed that stronger microphase separation usually occurs at r = 1/12 and 1/6, but microphase separation is weaker at r = 1/24 and 1/3. In most cases, microphase-separated but disordered structures are obtained. Particularly, ordered lamellar structure is formed at suitable doping ratio and block composition. FTIR result confirms the differential complexation of LiTFSI with PEO and PPMTC. LiTFSI preferentially interacts with PEO at low rs, but also strongly interacts with PPMTC at high rs. This work provides a new method to prepare solid polymer electrolytes with double conductive nano-phases, which may be beneficial to both conducting and mechanical properties.
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•The phase behavior of a new type of PPMTC-b-PEO/LiTFSI hybrid is studied.•The tendency of microphase separation of PPMTC-b-PEO/LiTFSI does not monotonically change with doping ratio.•The differential interactions of Li+ ions with PPMTC and PEO are confirmed by FTIR.
The periosteum orchestrates the microenvironment of bone regeneration, including facilitating local neuro-vascularization and regulating immune responses. To mimic the role of natural periosteum for ...bone repair enhancement, we adopted the principle of biomimetic mineralization to delicately inlay amorphous cerium oxide within eggshell membranes (ESMs) for the first time. Cerium from cerium oxide possesses unique ability to switch its oxidation state from cerium III to cerium IV and vice versa, which provides itself promising potential for biomedical applications. ESMs are mineralized with cerium(III, IV) oxide and examined for their biocompatibility. Apart from serving as physical barriers, periosteum-like cerium(III, IV) oxide-mineralized ESMs are biocompatible and can actively regulate immune responses and facilitate local neuro-vascularization along with early-stage bone regeneration in a murine cranial defect model. During the healing process, cerium-inlayed biomimetic periosteum can boost early osteoclastic differentiation of macrophage lineage cells, which may be the dominant mediator of the local repair microenvironment. The present work provides novel insights into expanding the definition and function of a biomimetic periosteum to boost early-stage bone repair and optimize long-term repair with robust neuro-vascularization. This new treatment strategy which employs multifunctional bone-and-periosteum-mimicking systems creates a highly concerted microenvironment to expedite bone regeneration.
As a major class of medicine for treating the lethal type of castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa), long-term use of androgen receptor (AR) antagonists commonly leads to antiandrogen resistance. ...When AR signaling pathway is blocked by AR-targeted therapy, glucocorticoid receptor (GR) could compensate for AR function especially at the late stage of PCa. AR-GR dual antagonist is expected to be a good solution for this situation. Nevertheless, no effective non-steroidal AR-GR dual antagonist has been reported so far. In this study, an AR-GR dual binder H18 was first discovered by combining structure-based virtual screening and biological evaluation. Then with the aid of computationally guided design, the AR-GR dual antagonist HD57 was finally identified with antagonistic activity towards both AR (IC
= 0.394 μM) and GR (IC
= 17.81 μM). Moreover, HD57 could effectively antagonize various clinically relevant AR mutants. Further molecular dynamics simulation provided more atomic insights into the mode of action of HD57. Our research presents an efficient and rational strategy for discovering novel AR-GR dual antagonists, and the new scaffold provides important clues for the development of novel therapeutics for castration-resistant PCa.
Aims
This study aimed at examining whether ankle–brachial index (ABI) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were independently associated with carotid Intima-media thickness (CIMT) or ...carotid artery plaque (CAP) in elderly people.
Methods
A cross-sectional analysis was performed in 155 individuals aged over 75 years who underwent the measurements of ABI and baPWV. Low ABI was defined as ABI ≤ 1.0. High baPWV was defined as baPWV > 2000 cm/s. The CIMT and CAP were measured with a B-mode tomographic ultrasound system.
Results
Neither ABI nor baPWV was associated with CIMT in this elderly population. The group with low ABI (≤ 1.0) was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of carotid plaque (
P
= 0.001), while the relationship between baPWV and prevalence of carotid plaque was not found. Linear regression analysis showed that the value of ABI was significantly associated with the thickness of carotid plaque. Even in the full adjusted model, each 0.01unit ABI decreasing still increased 0.1663 mm of carotid plaque thickness (
P
= 0.004). Logistic Regression Analysis demonstrated that ABI lower than 1.0 had predictive value in the formation of carotid plaque with top quartile thickness (OR 2.834, 95% CI 1.131–7.099,
P
= 0.026). Furthermore, individuals with low ABI (≤ 1.0) were more likely to form hypoechoic carotid plaques according to ultrasonography.
Conclusion
Low ABI but not high baPWV was associated with the formation of carotid plaque. Furthermore, ABI was significantly associated with the thickness and morphology of carotid plaque in elderly people.
Nanocarbons with diverse structures have great potential applications in biomedicine, energy conversion, and catalysis owing to their unique photoelectric properties. This work describes bottom‐up ...synthesis of hyperbranched fractal nanocarbons (HFNs), using trimethylolpropane tri(cyclic carbonate) ether and ethylenediamine as the precursors. HFNs are formed by self‐assembly of in situ generated carbonized polymer dots (CPDs), driven by their low surface ζ‐potentials. Of significance, both CPDs and HFNs possess graphitized carbon core and functionalized shell with core edge layer, thus emit bright solid‐state luminescence with an absolute quantum yield of 11.7% at room temperature and strong phosphorescence at 77 K. The carbonyl cluster of these nanocarbons is mainly responsible for the strong photoluminescence emission. The application of HFNs is demonstrated for energy conversion, using them as single phosphor for fabricating multicolor light‐emitting diodes. This work outlines a fundamental principle to prepare HFNs with bright photoluminescence in solid state.
Perfect hyperbranched fractal nanocarbons with high absolute photoluminescence quantum yield of 11.7% in solid state are formed by the self‐assembly of carbonized polymer dots via one‐step hydrothermal reaction, and they are applied as single phosphors to achieve warm white light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) with high color rendering index and low correlated color temperature and orange LEDs.
In the present work, composite single crystals (CSCs) composed of poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) homopolymer and poly (L-lactic acid)-b-polystyrene (PLLA-b-PS) block copolymers (BCPs) were prepared by ...solution co-crystallization. The effects of crystallization temperature (Tc), mass ratio of BCP/homopolymer and PS block length on the morphology and growth habit of the CSCs were investigated. Particularly, parallelogram CSCs with four {110} crystal planes as edges tend to be formed at a low Tc and a small BCP/homopolymer mass ratio for the BCP with a short PS block. The parallelogram shape of the crystals indicates the growth rates along four {110} crystal planes are different in two directions. It is proposed that the folded surface free energy is reduced after incorporation of PLLA-b-PS BCP into the crystals, leading to accelerated growth and concave surface structure along the long side direction. The chain folding of the PLLA block in the CSCs was also discussed. It is found that, in order to match the chain folding of PLLA homopolymer, the PLLA block in the BCPs adopts more chain folds in the CSCs than that in the single crystals formed by neat BCPs.
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•Parallelogram composite single crystals (CSCs) of PLLA-b-PS BCP and PLLA homopolymer were prepared.•The CSCs had a mono-axial concave surface structure and a thinner crystalline layer.•The parallelogram shape of CSCs results from the decreased folded surface free energy by introduction of PS block.
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