Acute primary angle closure during the Omicron outbreak.

AIM: To investigate Omicron's impact on clinical presentation of acute primary angle closure (APAC) in China. METHODS: A consecutive case series with historical controls was conducted at Shenzhen Eye Hospital, the largest specialized hospital in Shenzhen, China. Medical records from a two-month period during the Omicron pandemic (December 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023) were compared with records from two control groups (12/2018-1/2019 and 12/2021-1/2022) before pandemic. Patients with APAC were included, and the prevalence of APAC and demographic characteristics in Omicron-infected and non-infected patients were compared. RESULTS: Seventy-one (23.43%) out of 303 patients were diagnosed with APAC in the pandemic cohort, which was 2.98 and 2.61 times higher than that in control cohorts (7.87% in 2019, 8.96% in 2022, P<0.001). The pandemic cohort has significantly higher Omicron-infected rate (78.87% vs 0 vs 0; P<0.001), lower proportion of glaucoma history (16.90% vs 42.86% vs 41.67%, P=0.005), higher surgical rate (95.77% vs 83.33% vs 78.57%, P=0.024), higher total medical costs and larger pupil diameter (5.63±0.15 vs 4.68±0.15 vs 4.69±0.22 mm, P<0.01). In 83% Omicron-infected patients, ocular symptoms appeared within 3d after systemic symptoms onset. In multivariate analysis, Omicron infection (P<0.001) was the only independent predictor of pupil diameter. CONCLUSION: In the Omicron epidemic in China, there is an increase of prevalence and severity of APAC, particularly focusing on the first 3d following infection.

Diabetic retinopathy identification based on multi-source-free domain adaptation.

AIM: To address the challenges of data labeling difficulties, data privacy, and necessary large amount of labeled data for deep learning methods in diabetic retinopathy (DR) identification, the aim of this study is to develop a source-free domain adaptation (SFDA) method for efficient and effective DR identification from unlabeled data. METHODS: A multi-SFDA method was proposed for DR identification. This method integrates multiple source models, which are trained from the same source domain, to generate synthetic pseudo labels for the unlabeled target domain. Besides, a softmax-consistence minimization term is utilized to minimize the intra-class distances between the source and target domains and maximize the inter-class distances. Validation is performed using three color fundus photograph datasets (APTOS2019, DDR, and EyePACS). RESULTS: The proposed model was evaluated and provided promising results with respectively 0.8917 and 0.9795 F1-scores on referable and normal/abnormal DR identification tasks. It demonstrated effective DR identification through minimizing intra-class distances and maximizing inter-class distances between source and target domains. CONCLUSION: The multi-SFDA method provides an effective approach to overcome the challenges in DR identification. The method not only addresses difficulties in data labeling and privacy issues, but also reduces the need for large amounts of labeled data required by deep learning methods, making it a practical tool for early detection and preservation of vision in diabetic patients.

Catalpol reduced LPS induced BV2 immunoreactivity through NF-κB/NLRP3 pathways: an in Vitro and in silico study.

Background: Ischemic Stroke (IS) stands as one of the primary cerebrovascular diseases profoundly linked with inflammation. In the context of neuroinflammation, an excessive activation of microglia has been observed. Consequently, regulating microglial activation emerges as a vital target for neuroinflammation treatment. Catalpol (CAT), a natural compound known for its anti-inflammatory properties, holds promise in this regard. However, its potential to modulate neuroinflammatory responses in the brain, especially on microglial cells, requires comprehensive exploration. Methods: In our study, we investigated into the potential anti-inflammatory effects of catalpol using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglial cells as an experimental model. The production of nitric oxide (NO) by LPS-activated BV2 cells was quantified using the Griess reaction. Immunofluorescence was employed to measure glial cell activation markers. RT-qPCR was utilized to assess mRNA levels of various inflammatory markers. Western blot analysis examined protein expression in LPS-activated BV2 cells. NF-κB nuclear localization was detected by immunofluorescent staining. Additionally, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations (MDs) were conducted to explore the binding affinity of catalpol with key targets. Results: Catalpol effectively suppressed the production of nitric oxide (NO) induced by LPS and reduced the expression of microglial cell activation markers, including Iba-1. Furthermore, we observed that catalpol downregulated the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1ß, as well as key molecules involved in the NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB pathway, including NLRP3, NF-κB, caspase-1, and ASC. Our mechanistic investigations shed light on how catalpol operates against neuroinflammation. It was evident that catalpol significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, both of which serve as upstream regulators of the inflammatory cascade. Molecular docking and MDs showed strong binding interactions between catalpol and key targets such as NF-κB, NLRP3, and IL-1ß. Conclusion: Our findings support the idea that catalpol holds the potential to alleviate neuroinflammation, and it is achieved by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB, ultimately leading to the downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Catalpol emerges as a promising candidate for the treatment of neuroinflammatory conditions.

Bibliometric analysis of hotspots and trends of global myopia research.

AIM: To gain insights into the global research hotspots and trends of myopia. METHODS: Articles were downloaded from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2022 from the Science Core Database website and were mainly statistically analyzed by bibliometrics software. RESULTS: A total of 444 institutions in 87 countries published 4124 articles. Between 2013 and 2022, China had the highest number of publications (n=1865) and the highest H-index (61). Sun Yat-sen University had the highest number of publications (n=229) and the highest H-index (33). Ophthalmology is the main category in related journals. Citations from 2020 to 2022 highlight keywords of options and reference, child health (pediatrics), myopic traction mechanism, public health, and machine learning, which represent research frontiers. CONCLUSION: Myopia has become a hot research field. China and Chinese institutions have the strongest academic influence in the field from 2013 to 2022. The main driver of myopic research is still medical or ophthalmologists. This study highlights the importance of public health in addressing the global rise in myopia, especially its impact on children's health. At present, a unified theoretical system is still needed. Accurate surgical and therapeutic solutions must be proposed for people with different characteristics to manage and intervene refractive errors. In addition, the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) models are also reflected in disease monitoring and prediction.

Clinical features, treatment, and follow-up of OPPG and high-bone-mass disorders: LRP5 is a key regulator of bone mass.

Osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG) and LRP5 high bone mass (LRP5-HBM) are two rare bone diseases with opposite clinical symptoms caused by loss-of-function and gain-of-function mutations in LRP5. Bisphosphonates are an effective treatment for OPPG patients. LRP5-HBM has a benign course, and age-related bone loss is found in one LRP5-HBM patient. PURPOSE: Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) is involved in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. The gain-of-function mutation leads to high bone mass (LRP5-HBM), while the loss-of-function mutation leads to osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG). In this study, the clinical manifestations, disease-causing mutations, treatment, and follow-up were summarized to improve the understanding of these two diseases. METHODS: Two OPPG patients and four LRP5-HBM patients were included in this study. The clinical characteristics, biochemical and radiological examinations, pathogenic mutations, and structural analysis were summarized. Furthermore, several patients were followed up to observe the treatment effect and disease progress. RESULTS: Congenital blindness, persistent bone pain, low bone mineral density (BMD), and multiple brittle fractures were the main clinical manifestations of OPPG. Complex heterozygous mutations were detected in two OPPG patients. The c.1455G > T mutation in exon 7 was first reported. During the follow-up, BMD of two patients was significantly improved after bisphosphonate treatment. On the contrary, typical clinical features of LRP5-HBM included extremely high BMD without fractures, torus palatinus and normal vision. X-ray showed diffuse osteosclerosis. Two heterozygous missense mutations were detected in four patients. In addition, age-related bone loss was found in one LRP5-HBM patient after 12-year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: This study deepened the understanding of the clinical characteristics, treatment, and follow-up of OPPG and LRP5-HBM; expanded the pathogenic gene spectrum of OPPG; and confirmed that bisphosphonates were effective for OPPG. Additionally, it was found that Ala242Thr mutation could not protect LRP5-HBM patients from age-related bone loss. This phenomenon deserves further study.

An auxiliary strategy of partial least squares regression in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies: A case of application of guhong injection in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion rats.

Guhong injection (GHI) has been applied in the therapy of cardio-cerebrovascular disease in clinic, but there is no report about the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) research on GHI treating myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury in rats. In this study, eight compounds of GHI in plasma, including N-acetyl-L-glutamine (NAG), chlorogenic acid (CGA), hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), p-coumaric acid ( pCA), rutin, hyperoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, and kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, were quantified by LC-MS/MS. We discovered that the values of t1/2ß, k12, V2, and CL2 were larger than those of t1/2α, k21, V1, and CL1 for all compounds. The levels of four biomarkers, creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), cardiac troponin I (cTn I), ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), and alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (α-HBDH) in plasma were determined by ELISA. The elevated level of these biomarkers induced by MI/R was declined to different degrees via administrating GHI and verapamil hydrochloride (positive control). The weighted regression coefficients of NAG, HSYA, CGA, and pCA in PLSR equations generated from The Unscrambler X software (version 11) were mostly minus, suggesting these four ingredients were positively correlated to the diminution of the level of four biomarkers. Emax and ED50, two parameters in PK/PD equations that were obtained by adopting Drug and Statistics software (version 3.2.6), were almost enlarged with the rise of GHI dosage. Obviously, all analytes were dominantly distributed and eliminated in the peripheral compartment with features of rapid distribution and slow elimination. With the enhancement of GHI dosage, the ingredients only filled in the central compartment if the peripheral compartment was replete. Meanwhile, high-dose of GHI generated the optimum intrinsic activity, but the affinity of compounds with receptors was the worst, which may be caused by the saturation of receptors. Among the eight analytes, NAG, HSYA, CGA, and pCA exhibited superior cardioprotection, which probably served as the pharmacodynamic substance basis of GHI in treating MI/R injury.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of Al3+ ion-suppressed phase-separation structures in rare-earth-doped high-phosphorus silica glasses.

Rare-earth-doped silica-based composite glasses (Re-SCGs) are widely used as high-quality laser gain media in defense, aerospace, energy, power, and medical applications. The variable regional chemical environments of Re-SCGs can induce new photoluminescence properties of rare-earth ions but can cause the selective aggregation of rare-earth ions, limiting the application of Re-SCGs in the field of high-power lasers. Here, topological engineering is proposed to adjust the degree of cross-linking of phase-separation network chains in Re-SCGs. A combination of experimental and theoretical characterization techniques suggested that the selective aggregation of rare-earth ions originates from the formation of phase-separated structures in glasses. The decomposition of nanoscale phase separation structures to the sub-nanometer scale, enabled by incorporating Al3+ ions, not only maintains the high luminescence efficiency of rare earth ions but also increases light transmittance and reduces light scattering. Furthermore, our investigation encompassed the exploration of the inhibitory mechanism of Al3+ ions on phase-separation structures, as well as their influence on the spectral characteristics of Re-SCGs. This work provides a new design concept for composite glass materials doped with rare-earth ions and could broaden their application in the field of high-power lasers.

Intelligent diagnosis of retinal vein occlusion based on color fundus photographs.

AIM: To develop an artificial intelligence (AI) diagnosis model based on deep learning (DL) algorithm to diagnose different types of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) by recognizing color fundus photographs (CFPs). METHODS: Totally 914 CFPs of healthy people and patients with RVO were collected as experimental data sets, and used to train, verify and test the diagnostic model of RVO. All the images were divided into four categories [normal, central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), and macular retinal vein occlusion (MRVO)] by three fundus disease experts. Swin Transformer was used to build the RVO diagnosis model, and different types of RVO diagnosis experiments were conducted. The model's performance was compared to that of the experts. RESULTS: The accuracy of the model in the diagnosis of normal, CRVO, BRVO, and MRVO reached 1.000, 0.978, 0.957, and 0.978; the specificity reached 1.000, 0.986, 0.982, and 0.976; the sensitivity reached 1.000, 0.955, 0.917, and 1.000; the F1-Sore reached 1.000, 0.955 0.943, and 0.887 respectively. In addition, the area under curve of normal, CRVO, BRVO, and MRVO diagnosed by the diagnostic model were 1.000, 0.900, 0.959 and 0.970, respectively. The diagnostic results were highly consistent with those of fundus disease experts, and the diagnostic performance was superior. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic model developed in this study can well diagnose different types of RVO, effectively relieve the work pressure of clinicians, and provide help for the follow-up clinical diagnosis and treatment of RVO patients.

Iodine Excess May Lead to Low Exam Score in Children Aged 8-10 Years.

Recent research has shown that iodine excess may damage children's intelligence. Years of monitoring results in Shanghai show the iodine status has approached the upper limit of the appropriate range for children aged 8-10 years, indicating a risk of iodine excess. We used multi-stage random sampling to select children. Sixteen districts of Shanghai were divided into five units based on geographic location, and one primary school was randomly selected from each unit. In each selected school, about 40 children aged 8-10 years were randomly recruited to measure their urinary iodine concentration (UIC), household salt iodine concentration (SIC), the score of the final unified exam of the last semester, and school canteen salt iodine concentration. The median UIC of 3213 children aged 8-10 years in Shanghai was 195.4 (122.0, 285.8) µg/L and exceeded 200 µg/L in 48.8% of the population. Household and school canteen iodized salt coverage rates were 60.3% and 82.5% respectively, and mean household and school canteen SICs were 21.51 ± 9.30 mg/kg and 25.29 ± 3.40 mg/kg respectively. By correcting for potential confounding factors, logistic regression demonstrated that compared to the adequate iodine status group, students in the slight iodine excess group were less likely to get "A" (score > 90) in math, Chinese, and English exams (Math: OR = 0.775, 95% CI = 0.660-0.911, P = 0.002; Chinese: OR = 0.707, 95% CI = 0.543-0.842, P < 0.001; English: OR = 0.720, 95% CI = 0.610-0.849, P < 0.001). In Shanghai, the iodine status of 8-10-year-old children is approaching the upper limit of the adequate range. Iodine excess in Shanghai may lead to low exam scores for students.

Toll-Like Receptor 4 Deficiency Ameliorates Propofol-Induced Impairments of Cognitive Function and Synaptic Plasticity in Young Mice.

Propofol is one of the most used intravenous anesthetic agents, which is widely used in clinical anesthesia induction and maintenance of pediatric patients. Exposure of the developing brain to propofol has been reported to lead to adverse brain changes, which in turn can induce persistent behavioral abnormalities in adulthood. However, the mechanisms by which propofol exposure in the developing brain induces cognitive impairment remain unclear. Here we report that repeated propofol exposure during the second postnatal week impairs spatial learning and memory in young mice. The reduced excitatory synaptic function and synaptogenesis in hippocampal CA1 neurons underlie this cognitive impairment. Propofol exposure specifically activates Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88)-NF-κB signaling pathway. TLR4 deficiency recues propofol exposure-induced synaptic function and cognitive deficits in young mice. Thus, we provide evidence that the activation of the TLR4-mediated pathway by propofol exposure may serve as a crucial trigger for the cognitive impairment in young adulthood caused by repeated exposure to propofol in the developing brain.

Bibliometric analysis of artificial intelligence and optical coherence tomography images: research hotspots and frontiers.

AIM: To explore the latest application of artificial intelligence (AI) in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, and to analyze the current research status of AI in OCT, and discuss the future research trend. METHODS: On June 1, 2023, a bibliometric analysis of the Web of Science Core Collection was performed in order to explore the utilization of AI in OCT imagery. Key parameters such as papers, countries/regions, citations, databases, organizations, keywords, journal names, and research hotspots were extracted and then visualized employing the VOSviewer and CiteSpace V bibliometric platforms. RESULTS: Fifty-five nations reported studies on AI biotechnology and its application in analyzing OCT images. The United States was the country with the largest number of published papers. Furthermore, 197 institutions worldwide provided published articles, where University of London had more publications than the rest. The reference clusters from the study could be divided into four categories: thickness and eyes, diabetic retinopathy (DR), images and segmentation, and OCT classification. CONCLUSION: The latest hot topics and future directions in this field are identified, and the dynamic evolution of AI-based OCT imaging are outlined. AI-based OCT imaging holds great potential for revolutionizing clinical care.

Multilevel synergically controlling wavefront correction of a high-power slab laser system.

We present a multilevel synergically controlling wavefront correction method that can apply in a slab laser system. To fully utilize the response frequency and the stroke of actuators of the single deformable mirror (DM), we design a set of multilevel wavefront correction devices to reduce the root-mean square of wavefront aberration before the DM. As the wavefront of slab geometry solid-state lasers mainly consists of fourth and longitudinally distributed aberration, such as 5th, 9th, and 14th orders of Legendre polynomials. We design a precompensating level of the aberration with a slow-drift mirror, fast-steer mirror, one-dimensional adjustable slab-aberration compensator, and beam-shaping system to reduce these orders of wavefront aberration with low spatial resolution and large stroke. As the controlling bandwidth of different devices is diverse, the coupling oscillation between the precompensating level and adaptive optics (AO) level occurs, then we develop the multilevel synergically control to address the coupling. With the precompensating level, the experimental result shows the residual wavefront aberration of the slab laser is compensated well by the AO level effectively within the compensating capability. We clean up a 9.8 kW slab laser system with the beam quality ß of far-field focus spots improved from 17.71 to 2.24 times the diffraction limit.

Research on classification method of high myopic maculopathy based on retinal fundus images and optimized ALFA-Mix active learning algorithm.

AIM: To conduct a classification study of high myopic maculopathy (HMM) using limited datasets, including tessellated fundus, diffuse chorioretinal atrophy, patchy chorioretinal atrophy, and macular atrophy, and minimize annotation costs, and to optimize the ALFA-Mix active learning algorithm and apply it to HMM classification. METHODS: The optimized ALFA-Mix algorithm (ALFA-Mix+) was compared with five algorithms, including ALFA-Mix. Four models, including ResNet18, were established. Each algorithm was combined with four models for experiments on the HMM dataset. Each experiment consisted of 20 active learning rounds, with 100 images selected per round. The algorithm was evaluated by comparing the number of rounds in which ALFA-Mix+ outperformed other algorithms. Finally, this study employed six models, including EfficientFormer, to classify HMM. The best-performing model among these models was selected as the baseline model and combined with the ALFA-Mix+ algorithm to achieve satisfactory classification results with a small dataset. RESULTS: ALFA-Mix+ outperforms other algorithms with an average superiority of 16.6, 14.75, 16.8, and 16.7 rounds in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and Kappa value, respectively. This study conducted experiments on classifying HMM using several advanced deep learning models with a complete training set of 4252 images. The EfficientFormer achieved the best results with an accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and Kappa value of 0.8821, 0.8334, 0.9693, and 0.8339, respectively. Therefore, by combining ALFA-Mix+ with EfficientFormer, this study achieved results with an accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and Kappa value of 0.8964, 0.8643, 0.9721, and 0.8537, respectively. CONCLUSION: The ALFA-Mix+ algorithm reduces the required samples without compromising accuracy. Compared to other algorithms, ALFA-Mix+ outperforms in more rounds of experiments. It effectively selects valuable samples compared to other algorithms. In HMM classification, combining ALFA-Mix+ with EfficientFormer enhances model performance, further demonstrating the effectiveness of ALFA-Mix+.

Increased Interpersonal Brain Synchronization in Romantic Couples Is Associated with Higher Honesty: An fNIRS Hyperscanning Study.

Previous studies on the brain-brain interaction of deception have shown different patterns of interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) between different genders. However, the brain-brain mechanisms in the cross-sex composition need to be better understood. Furthermore, there needs to be more discussion about how relationships (e.g., romantic couples vs. strangers) affect the brain-brain mechanism under interactive deception. To elaborate on these issues, we used the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning approach to simultaneously measure interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) in romantic couples (heterosexual) and cross-sex stranger dyads during the sender-receiver game. The behavioral results found that the deception rate of males was lower than that of females, and romantic couples were deceived less than strangers. Significantly increased IBS was observed in the frontopolar cortex (FPC) and right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) of the romantic couple group. Moreover, the IBS is negatively correlated with the deception rate. No significantly increased IBS was observed in cross-sex stranger dyads. The result corroborated the lower deception of males and romantic couples in cross-sex interactions. Furthermore, IBS in the PFC and rTPJ was the underlying dual-brain neural basis for supporting honesty in romantic couples.

Cogan's syndrome is more than just keratitis: a case-based literature review.

BACKGROUND: Cogan's syndrome (CS) is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by non-syphilitic interstitial keratitis (IK) and Menière-like cochlear vestibular symptoms, which may also have systemic effects. Corticosteroids are first-line treatment. DMARDs and biologics have been used to treat ocular and systemic symptoms of CS. CASE PRESENTATION: This is a case of a 35-year-old female who reported hearing loss, eye redness and photophobia. Her condition progressed to a sudden sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and constant vertigo accompanied by cephalea. CS was diagnosed after excluding other diseases. The patient still developed bilateral sensorineural hearing loss after receiving hormone, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, and a variety of biological agents. Joint symptoms were relieved after treatment with a JAK inhibitor (tofacitinib), and hearing did not deteriorate further. CONCLUSIONS: CS should be involved in the differential diagnosis of keratitis. Early identification and intervention of this autoimmune disease can minimize disability and irreversible damage.

Engineering Atomic-to-Nano Scale Structural Homogeneity towards High Corrosion Resistance of Amorphous Magnesium-Based Alloys.

Magnesium-based amorphous alloys have aroused broad interest in being applied in marine use due to their merits of lightweight and high strength. Yet, the poor corrosion resistance to chloride-containing seawater has hindered their practical applications. Herein, we propose a new strategy to improve the chloride corrosion resistance of amorphous Mg65Cu15Ag10Gd10 alloys by engineering atomic-to-nano scale structural homogeneity, which is implemented by heating the material to the critical temperature of the liquid-liquid transition. By using various electrochemical, microscopic, and spectroscopic characterization methods, we reveal that the liquid-liquid transition can rearrange the local structural units in the amorphous structure, slightly decreasing the alloy structure's homogeneity, accelerate the formation of protective passivation film, and, therefore, increase the corrosion resistance. Our study has demonstrated the strong coupling between an amorphous structure and corrosion behavior, which is available for optimizing corrosion-resistant alloys.

Potassium channel Kir 4.1 regulates oligodendrocyte differentiation via intracellular pH regulation.

In humans, loss-of-function mutations of Kcnj10 in SeSAME/EAST syndrome, which encodes the inwardly rectifying K+ channel 4.1 (Kir 4.1), causes progressive neurological decline. Despite its rich expression in oligodendrocyte (OL) lineage cells and an emerging link with demyelinating disease, the function of Kir 4.1 in OLs is unclear. Here we show a novel role of Kir 4.1 in OL development. Kir 4.1 expression is markedly greater in OLs than in OL precursor cells (OPCs), and the down-regulation of Kir 4.1 impairs OL maturation by affecting OPC differentiation. Interestingly, Kir 4.1 regulates the intracellular pH of OPCs and OLs via the Na+ /H+ exchanger, which underlies impeded OPC differentiation by Kir 4.1 inhibition. Furthermore, Kir 4.1 regulates GSK3ß and SOX10, two molecules critical to OPC development. Collectively, our work opens a new avenue to understanding the functions of Kir 4.1 and intracellular pH in OLs.

Multimode imaging characteristics and treatment of uveal schwannoma.

AIM: To delineate the different imaging characteristics of uveal schwannoma from melanoma and discuss the optimal treatment strategy for intraocular schwannoma. METHODS: Case series of three patients diagnosed with intraocular schwannoma was collected at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Guangzhou, China from July 2014 to December 2020. All the study patients underwent ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The clinical features, therapeutic strategies, and prognoses of all patients were reviewed. RESULTS: Ultrasonography of all three patients (all females, mean age, 39y, age range, 23-54y) showed low to medium reflectivity with a homogeneous internal structure. MRI of all three patients demonstrated isointensity on T1-weighted imaging spin-echo (T1WI SE) images and hypointense on fast spin-echo T2-weighted images (FSE T2WI) images with respect to the brain. Minimally invasive pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and local resection of the tumor was performed for all patients, and the diagnosis of schwannoma was confirmed by histopathological examination. CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that ultrasonography and MRI features of uveal schwannoma may contribute to the differentiation of uveal schwannoma from melanoma, and the optimal therapy for intraocular schwannoma is minimally invasive PPV and local resection.

Primary aberration optimization for double-plane symmetric beam shaping systems using a pair of curved reference surfaces.

The geometric aberration of centered refracting double-plane symmetric optical systems (DPSOS) is investigated. For DPSOS with different defocus values in the tangential plane and the sagittal plane (astigmatic wavefront), a pair of curved reference surfaces which vanishes the quadratic terms of the optical path difference (OPD) between a general ray and a reference ray are deduced. With the curved reference surfaces, the primary (fourth-order) wave aberration function for DPSOS is calculated and analyzed, which can be used for beam shaping designs with astigmatic input wavefront, such as slab lasers and semiconductor lasers. Further, the proposed curved reference surfaces can be applied to analyze the aberrations of general DPSOS.

Expression and clinical significance of CXCL17 and GPR35 in endometrial carcinoma.

Endometrial carcinoma is one of the most common gynecologic malignancies. CXCL17-CXCR8 (GPR35) axis is reported to play an indispensability role in tumors. Our purpose is to screen possible prognostic and immune-related factors in endometrial carcinoma by detecting the mRNA and protein expression of CXCL17 and CXCR8. We use the qRT-PCR method to test the mRNA expression of CXCL17 and CXCR8 in 35 pairs of endometrial carcinoma and adjacent tissue. The protein expression of CXCL17 and CXCR8 in 30 cases of normal proliferative endometrium, 30 cases of endometrial atypical hyperplasia and 50 cases of endometrial carcinoma was detected by tissue microarray immunohistochemistry. There was no significant difference in the positive expression rate between endometrial adenocarcinoma tissue and endometrial atypical hyperplasia tissue (P > 0.05). But significantly better than normal proliferative tissue (P < 0.001). Correlation analysis of CXCR8 and CXCL17 in endometrial carcinoma showed a positive correlation (r = 0.9123, P < 0.0001). For patients with endometrial cancer, the overall survival (OS) of patients with high CXCL17 expression was significantly higher than that low CXCL17 expression (log-rank test, P < 0.0001), whereas CXCR8 had no statistical significance. But the expression of CXCR8 is an independent prognostic factor of OS in endometrial carcinoma patients. Our study showed that CXCL17 and CXCR8 may be involved in the occurrence and development of endometrial cancer. High expression of CXCL17 may be used as a biomarker for predicting survival. Because CXCL17 and CXCL18 are related to lymphocytes and immune regulation, they are expected to become potential targets for immunotherapy.