The spatiotemporal evolution of rural landscape patterns in Chinese metropolises under rapid urbanization.

Understanding the evolution of rural landscapes in metropolises during rapid urbanization is crucial for formulating policies to protect the rural ecological environment. In this study, remote sensing and geographical information system data, as well as applied landscape index analysis, are used to examine the spatiotemporal evolution of rural landscape patterns in the Beijing-Tianjin region of China, which has experienced rapid urbanization. The relationships between land use/land cover changes and changes in rural landscape patterns are explored. The results revealed significant spatial differences in the rural landscapes in the Beijing-Tianjin region; farmland and forestland were the main types of landscapes, creating a "mountain-field-sea" natural landscape pattern. The conversion of rural landscapes in the Beijing-Tianjin region involved mainly the conversion of farmland to urban areas, with few exchanges between other landscape types. The urban areas in the Beijing-Tianjin region increased by 3% per decade; farmland decreased at the same rate. Additionally, the rural landscape patterns in the Beijing-Tianjin region were dominated by fragmentation, dispersion, and heterogeneity and moved from complex to regular. Water bodies displayed the most fragmented natural landscape; their number of patches increased by 36%, though their network characteristics were maintained. Forestland was the most concentrated natural landscape. In this study, theoretical support and a scientific reference for the optimization of rural landscape patterns and the improvement in rural living environments in rapidly urbanizing areas are provided.

PIF4 interacts with ABI4 to serve as a transcriptional activator complex to promote seed dormancy by enhancing ABA biosynthesis and signaling.

Transcriptional regulation plays a key role in the control of seed dormancy, and many transcription factors (TFs) have been documented. However, the mechanisms underlying the interactions between different TFs within a transcriptional complex regulating seed dormancy remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that TF PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR4 (PIF4) physically interacted with the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling responsive TF ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE4 (ABI4) to act as a transcriptional complex to promote ABA biosynthesis and signaling, finally deepening primary seed dormancy. Both pif4 and abi4 single mutants exhibited a decreased primary seed dormancy phenotype, with a synergistic effect in the pif4/abi4 double mutant. PIF4 binds to ABI4 to form a heterodimer, and ABI4 stabilizes PIF4 at the protein level, whereas PIF4 does not affect the protein stabilization of ABI4. Subsequently, both TFs independently and synergistically promoted the expression of ABI4 and NCED6, a key gene for ABA anabolism. The genetic evidence is also consistent with the phenotypic, physiological and biochemical analysis results. Altogether, this study revealed a transcriptional regulatory cascade in which the PIF4-ABI4 transcriptional activator complex synergistically enhanced seed dormancy by facilitating ABA biosynthesis and signaling.

Immune checkpoints represent a promising breakthrough in targeted therapy and prognosis of myelodysplastic syndrome.

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a hematological malignancy of undetermined etiology, possibly linked to chromosomal structural alterations, genetic mutations, presentation and carcinogenicity of variant antigens on cell surface, and the generation of pro-inflammatory microenvironment in the bone marrow. Current drugs are unable to cure this disease, and therefore, decreasing the survival and proliferation of malignant cells to delay disease progression and extend the survival time of patients becomes the primary approach to management. In recent years, the immune system has received increasing attention for its potential role in the occurrence and development of MDS, leading to the emergence of immunoregulation as a viable treatment option. The current review provides a brief overview of pathogenesis of MDS and current treatment principles. In the meantime, the significance of immune proteins in treatment and prognosis of MDS is also discussed.

The impact of patient-reported visual disturbance on dynamic visual acuity in myopic patients after corneal refractive surgery.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of patient-reported visual disturbance on dynamic visual acuity in myopic patients after corneal refractive surgery. Methods: This is a prospective nonrandomized study. Adult myopic patients receiving bilateral laser-assisted sub-epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK), femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK), or small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) with Plano target were included. Eight types of patient-reported visual disturbance were evaluated regarding frequency, severity and bothersome and dynamic visual acuity (DVA) of 40 and 80 degrees per second (dps) was measured postoperatively at 3 months. Results: The study enrolled 95 patients with an average age of 27.6 ± 6.4 years. The most frequently reported visual disturbance was the fluctuation in vision (70.5%), followed by glare (66.3%) and halo (57.4%). Postoperative DVA at 80 dps was significantly associated with the total score of haloes (p = 0.038) and difficulty in judging distance (p = 0.046). Significant worse postoperative DVA at 40 dps was observed in patients with haloes than those without (p = 0.024). The DVA at 80 dps for patients without haloes or difficulty in judging distance was significantly better than that with the symptoms (haloes, p = 0.047; difficulty in judging distance, p = 0.029). Subgroup analysis by surgical procedures demonstrated that the significant difference in DVA between patients with and without visual disturbance was only observed in patients receiving FS-LASIK. Conclusion: Postoperatively, myopic patients undergoing corneal refractive surgery with haloes or difficulty in judging distance have significantly worse low and high-speed DVA than those without the symptoms. The present study provided the basis for postoperative guidance in daily tasks involving dynamic vision when patients have visual disturbances.

Binocular dynamic visual acuity in dry eye disease patients.

Purpose: To investigate binocular dynamic visual acuity (DVA) for patients with dry eye disease (DED). Methods: The prospective study included DED patients. The binocular DVA at 40 and 80 degrees per second (dps), Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), tear meniscus height (TMH), tear film break-up time first (TBUTF), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), eyelid margin abnormalities and meibomian gland (MG) abnormalities morphology and function were evaluated. A deep learning model was applied to quantify the MG area proportion. The correlation between DVA and DED parameters was analyzed. Results: A total of 73 DED patients were enrolled. The age, OSDI, CFS, MG expressibility, secretion quality, and eyelid margin abnormalities were significantly positively correlated with the DVA for 40 and 80 dps (all P < 0.05). The MG area proportion in the upper eyelid was negatively correlated with DVA at 40 dps (R = -0.293, P < 0.001) and at 80 dps (R = -0.304, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis by MG grade demonstrated that the DVA of patients with severe MG dropout (<25% of the total area) was significantly worse than other mild and moderate groups, both in 40 and 80 dps (all P < 0.05). The patients with CFS showed worse 40 (P < 0.001) and 80 dps (P < 0.001) DVA than the patients without CFS. Conclusion: Binocular DVA is significantly associated with DED symptoms and signs. The DED patients with CFS and severe MG dropout and dysfunction have worse DVA.

Procyanidins Extracted from the Lotus Seedpod Ameliorate Cognitive Impairment through CREB-BDNF Pathway Mediated LTP in APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease and is featured by cognitive impairment. Procyanidins have been shown to have a potential protective effect against neurodegenerative diseases, but the underlying mechanism is not comprehensive enough. OBJECTIVE: To further investigate the effects of procyanidins from lotus seedpod (LSPC) on cognition in AD. METHODS: The APP/PS1 transgenic mice were administered with LSPC (100 mg/kg body weight) for five months. The Morris water maze test was used to assess learning and memory function, the long-term potentiation (LTP) was measured, and the expressions of Aß, pCREB/CREB and BDNF were quantified by western blot. RESULTS: LSPC significantly ameliorated cognitive dysfunction, reduced Aß deposition and reversed the remarkable reduction of the phosphorylation of CREB and the expression of BDNF, and then enhanced the effect of LTP in APP/PS1 mice. CONCLUSION: These results revealed that LSPC could ameliorate cognitive impairment through the CREB-BDNF pathway that mediates the enhancement of LTP in APP/PS1 transgenic mice.

Comparison of dynamic defocus curve on cataract patients implanting extended depth of focus and monofocal intraocular lens.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to compare the dynamic defocus curve on patients post-implantation of the extended depth-of-focus (EDOF) and monofocal intraocular lens (IOL). METHODS: A total of 62 age-related cataract patients receiving phacoemulsification with implantation of TECNIS Symfony (ZXR00) or monofocal IOLs were enrolled. The binocular static and dynamic defocus curves with corrected distance visual acuity were evaluated at one month postoperatively. RESULTS: The ZXR00 group achieved significantly better intermediate (P = 0.044) and near (P = 0.017) visual acuity (VA) than the monofocal group. Two groups had similar uncorrected and corrected distance VA (P > 0.05, respectively). The dynamic defocus curve revealed a smoother decline from 0.0 D to - 2.0 D in the ZXR00 group. Defocused dynamic VA in the ZXR00 group was significantly better (P < 0.05) except at 0.0 D (P = 0.724) and - 0.5 D (P = 0.176). The area under the curve (P = 0.002) and corrected dynamic vision accommodation (P = 0.001) derived from the dynamic defocus curves were better in the ZXR00 group. A positive correlation was observed between defocused dynamic and static VA in both groups (P < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that defocused static VA and corrected dynamic vision accommodation were significant influential factors for the defocused dynamic VA from - 1.0 D to - 3.0 D (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The EDOF IOL provided similar distance vision, better intermediate and near vision, and a better overall dynamic defocus curve than the monofocal IOL. The dynamic defocus curve may be comprehensively applied to evaluate the all-distance dynamic visual performance post-cataract surgery.

Immunophenotypic changes of monocytes in myelodysplastic syndrome and clinical significance.

BACKGROUND: Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a type of heterogeneous myeloid clonal disorder usually diagnosed based on a combination of multiple laboratory examinations, including analysis of peripheral blood cells, bone marrow cell morphology and cytogenetics. However, there is a certain difficulty in cases with no distinct changes in hematology and marrow cell morphology. METHODS: We adopt flow cytometry to quantitatively analyze the immunophenotypic changes of marrow monocytes according to the surface antigens and their combinations at different differentiation stages, so as to study the changes of monocytes during differentiation in patients with bone marrow failure. In the meantime, the relationship between the immunophenotypic changes of marrow monocytes and IPSS-R score and prognosis of MDS patients was analyzed. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated disorders of maturation and differentiation of monocytes in patients with MDS and clonal cytopenias of undetermined significance as compared to those with aplastic anemia and healthy individuals. In addition, the differentiation abnormality gradually increased with the disease progression. Furthermore, CD300e expression was found to show significant associations with the clinical stage and disease progression of MDS, and the progression-free survival and AML-free survival were much longer in MDS patients highly expressing CD300e on monocytes. CONCLUSIONS: CCUS and MDS patients have disorders of differentiation and maturation of monocytes, which tends to be more critical with MDS progression or transforms to AML. Moreover, high CD300e expression has the potential to be a favorable prognostic marker for MDS. This study provides important insights to the role of monocyte immunotyping in the diagnosis, differentiation and prognosis of MDS.

Chromosome-scale genomes reveal genomic consequences of inbreeding in the South China tiger: A comparative study with the Amur tiger.

The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis, SCT) is the most critically endangered subspecies of tiger due to functional extinction in the wild. Inbreeding depression is observed among the captive population descended from six wild ancestors, resulting in high juvenile mortality and low reproduction. We assembled and characterized the first SCT genome and an improved Amur tiger (P. t. altaica, AT) genome named AmyTig1.0 and PanTig2.0. The two genomes are the most continuous and comprehensive among any tiger genomes yet reported at the chromosomal level. By using the two genomes and resequencing data of 15 SCT and 13 AT individuals, we investigated the genomic signature of inbreeding depression of the SCT. The results indicated that the effective population size of SCT experienced three phases of decline, ~5.0-1.0 thousand years ago, 100 years ago, and since captive breeding in 1963. We found 43 long runs of homozygosity fragments that were shared by all individuals in the SCT population and covered a total length of 20.63% in the SCT genome. We also detected a large proportion of identical-by-descent segments across the genome in the SCT population, especially on ChrB4. Deleterious nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphic sites and loss-of-function mutations were found across genomes with extensive potential influences, despite a proportion of these loads having been purged by inbreeding depression. Our research provides an invaluable resource for the formulation of genetic management policies for the South China tiger such as developing genome-based breeding and genetic rescue strategy.

TIM3/CEACAM1 pathway involves in myeloid-derived suppressor cells induced CD8+ T cells exhaustion and bone marrow inflammatory microenvironment in myelodysplastic syndrome.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) induced cellular immune deficiency and bone marrow inflammatory microenvironment play an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we revealed that immune checkpoint protein TIM3 and CEACAM1 were highly demonstrated on MDSC and CD8+ T cells in MDS patients. CD8+ T cells were reduced in number and function and presented a exhaustion state. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-18) and CEACAM1 were raised in bone marrow supernatants and MDSC culture supernatants. Blocking or neutralizing TIM3/CEACAM1 and IL-1ß/IL-18 partially reversed exhaustion of CD8+ T cells. Moreover, TIM3 correlated with NF-κB /NLRP3 inflammatory pathway. The levels of NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ß and IL-18 were all increased in MDSC of MDS. Co-culturing MDSC from MDS patients with rhCEACAM1 enhanced NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ß and IL-18 levels, whereas blocking TIM3 could partially reverse the above manifestations. These results indicated that TIM3/CEACAM1 pathway involved in CD8+ T cells exhaustion and might activate the NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathway in MDSC, increasing pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion in MDS bone marrow microenvironment. This study provided a basis for applying immune checkpoint inhibitors that could simultaneously modulate pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion and enhance anti-tumour immune function in the treatment of MDS.

Corneal subbasal nerve analysis in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome: a novel objective grading method and clinical correlations.

PURPOSE: To investigate corneal sub-basal nerve morphology changes in primary Sjogren's syndrome (SS) dry eye (SSDE) patients and determine the association with disease severity at microstructural level. METHODS: Twenty-eight eyes of 17 SSDE and 82 eyes of 47 age- and sex-matched non-SS dry eye (NSSDE) patients were included. The Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire (OSDI), Schirmer's test (ST), tear meniscus height (TMH), non-invasive breakup time (NIBUT), meibomian gland (MG) morphology, and ocular staining score (OSS) were assessed. In vivo confocal microscopy was performed to observe corneal sub-basal nerve morphology (length, reflectivity, width, and tortuosity). Associations between clinical features and nerve parameters were analysed. RESULTS: SSDE patients more frequently had increased nerve reflectivity (151.12 ± 17.07 vs. 139.37 ± 14.31 grey value), width (4.45 ± 0.87 vs. 3.92 ± 0.81 µm), tortuosity (132.90 ± 8.04 vs. 129.50 ± 7.33 degree), and higher reflectivity, width, and total nerve grades than NSSDE individuals (all P < 0.05). Significant associations were found between nerve reflectivity/width and anti-SSA [OR = 1.139 (1.013-1.281)/1.802 (1.013-4.465)]/labial gland biopsy [OR = 1.046 (1.002-1.161)/1.616 (1.020-3.243)]. Higher nerve width was associated with increased OSDI [ß = 0.284 (0.187-0.455)], MG score [ß = 0.185 (0.109-0.300)] and OSS [ß = 0.163 (0.020-0.345)], but decreased NIBUT [ß = - 0.247 (- 0.548 ~ - 0.154)]. Higher nerve total grade was associated with increased OSDI [ß = 0.418 (0.157-0.793)] and OSS [ß = 0.287 (0.027-0.547)], but decreased ST [ß = - 0.410 (-0.857 ~ - 0.138)]. CONCLUSIONS: Corneal nerve morphology changes associated with clinical features in SS patients. These changes may facilitate severity evaluation and management of the disease.

Abscisic acid inhibits primary root growth by impairing ABI4-mediated cell cycle and auxin biosynthesis.

Cell cycle progression and the phytohormones auxin and abscisic acid (ABA) play key roles in primary root growth, but how ABA mediates the transcription of cell cycle-related genes and the mechanism of crosstalk between ABA and auxin requires further research. Here, we report that ABA inhibits primary root growth by regulating the ABA INSENSITIVE4 (ABI4)-CYCLIN-DEPENDENT KINASE B2;2 (CDKB2;2)/CYCLIN B1;1 (CYCB1;1) module-mediated cell cycle as well as auxin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). ABA induced ABI4 transcription in the primary root tip, and the abi4 mutant showed an ABA-insensitive phenotype in primary root growth. Compared with the wild type (WT), the meristem size and cell number of the primary root in abi4 increased in response to ABA. Further, the transcription levels of several cell-cycle positive regulator genes, including CDKB2;2 and CYCB1;1, were upregulated in abi4 primary root tips. Subsequent chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq, ChIP-qPCR, and biochemical analysis revealed that ABI4 repressed the expression of CDKB2;2 and CYCB1;1 by physically interacting with their promoters. Genetic analysis demonstrated that overexpression of CDKB2;2 or CYCB1;1 fully rescued the shorter primary root phenotype of ABI4-overexpression lines, and consistently, abi4/cdkb2;2-cr or abi4/cycb1;1-cr double mutations largely rescued the ABA-insensitive phenotype of abi4 with regard to primary root growth. The expression levels of DR5promoter-GFP and PIN1promoter::PIN1-GFP in abi4 primary root tips were significantly higher than those in WT after ABA treatment, with these changes being consistent with changes in auxin concentration and expression patterns of auxin biosynthesis genes. Taken together, these findings indicated that ABA inhibits primary root growth through ABI4-mediated cell cycle and auxin-related regulatory pathways.

Evaluation of visual performance and eye movements in patients with blue light-filtering intraocular lenses versus ultraviolet light-filtering intraocular lenses.

Background: Eye movement plays an important role in visual perception and provides essential visual information for everyday tasks. Our previous study indicated that the visual performance and eye movement pattern were impaired in age-related cataract patients and could be improved after cataract surgery, but the impact of different intraocular lens (IOL) types was obscure. Previous studies found that blue light might affect the eye movement pattern and cognitive function. In this study, we explored the visual performance and eye movement pattern in post-cataract surgery patients implanted with blue light-filtering IOLs or ultraviolet (UV) light-filtering IOLs to further understand the impact of different types of IOLs on and daily visual performance and eye movement pattern and to help ophthalmologists and patients make the personalized option of IOL types in future. Methods: Patients after both-eye cataract surgeries were included in this study. Eye movement behaviors were automatically recorded by an eye tracker while performing three performance-based everyday tasks (non-social object search, face recognition, and reading). Visual performance and eye movement parameters were compared between participants with blue light-filtering IOLs and UV light-filtering IOLs. The correlation between visual performance and eye movement parameters was explored to determine which eye movement parameters had a significant influence on visual performance outcomes. Results: A total of 30 patients (16 with blue light-filtering IOLs and 14 with UV light-filtering IOLs) were included. In this study, we found that the eye movement pattern was slightly different with these two IOLs: during non-social object visual search task, time to first fixation and fixation counts before first fixation were notably increased in yellow-tinted blue light-filtering IOL patients. During reading task, a higher total fixation count was also found in blue light-filtering IOL patients. However, the visual performance of these two IOLs was close, except for a quicker search of the target object with clear UV light-filtering IOLs. Conclusion: Both blue light-filtering and UV light-filtering IOLs were able to successfully restore visual function and yield satisfactory outcomes after cataract surgery. Although subtle, yellow-tinted IOLs did have a slight but significant impact on visual performance and the eye movement pattern of elderly patients when handling everyday tasks.

Metagenomic nanopore sequencing of ocular microbiome in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction.

Purpose: To explore the composition of the ocular microbiome in patients with Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) using metagenomic nanopore sequencing. Methods: A total of 98 participants were recruited from September to December 2021, including 86 patients with MGD and 12 controls. Symptoms and signs of dry eye were assessed, and bacterial samples in the conjunctival sac (CS) and meibomian gland (MG) secretions were then identified by bacterial culture identification and metagenomic nanopore sequencing. Results: The positive rate of CS bacterial culture in the MGD group was significantly higher than that in the normal group. A more complex composition of bacterial genera was detected in the mild and moderate MGD groups than in the control. However, the severe MGD groups had the simplest composition of bacteria. Metagenomic nanopore sequencing detected more species of bacteria than traditional culture. Conclusion: The CS and MG of MGD patients may have different degrees of bacterial microbiota imbalance. Metagenomic nanopore sequencing technology provides a new way for us to understand the composition of "real-world" ocular surface microorganisms.

Evidence of air pollution-related ocular signs and altered inflammatory cytokine profile of the ocular surface in Beijing.

We evaluated how different degrees of air pollution affect the ocular surface of a cohort of human subjects in Beijing by correlating in-patient test outcomes with tear cytokines. A cross-sectional study involving 221 volunteers was carried out in different districts of Beijing. Air pollution indices were recorded for 7 d (including the visit day). The indices recorded were the air quality index (AQI), which is a dimensionless measure that quantitatively describes the state of air quality, concentrations of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and 10 µm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The Ocular Symptom Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire provided. Subsequently, subjects underwent slit-lamp examination, which included meibomian gland examination, conjunctival congestion score, conjunctivochalasis grade, tear meniscus height (TMH), tear breakup time (TBUT), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), Schirmer I test, and conjunctival impression cytology. The concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukins (IL)-1ß, IL-6 and IL-8 in tears were measured by microsphere-based immunoassay analysis. According to the value of the AQI, participants are divided into a slightly polluted (SP) group (n = 103) which the AQI value is less than or equal to 100 and a heavily polluted (HP) group (n = 118) whose AQI value is more than 100. Air pollution is related to ocular discomfort based on tear cytokine concentrations. PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 were positively correlated with OSDI, MG expressibility, meibum score, meiboscore, conjunctival congestion score, Schirmer I test value, TMH, goblet-cell density, concentrations of IL-6, and VEGF were negatively correlated with TBUT. PM2.5 and PM10 appear to be the major risk factors to the ocular surface, with NO2 being another important risk factor based on this study. The symptoms and signs of eye discomfort in the SP group were significantly less severe than those in the HP group, and tear cytokine concentrations (IL-6 and VEGF) were lower. Air pollution degrees were significantly correlated with tear cytokine concentrations, indicating an alteration of cytokine balance at the ocular surface under different degrees of air pollution.

Long-Term Changes in Corneal Endothelial Cell Density after Ex-PRESS Implantation: A Contralateral Eye Study.

Our purpose is to evaluate long-term changes in corneal endothelial cells after Ex-PRESS shunt implantation for the treatment of glaucoma in Chinese patients by comparison with the contralateral eye. In this retrospective observational study, glaucoma patients with a single eye undergoing Ex-PRESS shunt implantation surgery were consecutively enrolled. For each patient, the clinical assessment, including corneal endothelial cell density (CECD) before surgery and at 6, 12 months, and at last follow-up (2.43 ± 0.63 years) after surgery was reviewed. The operated eyes were in the study group and the unoperated contralateral eyes were used as the control group to compare the CECD change. A total of 48 subjects (age, 51.02 ± 17.96 years) were included. The follow-up period was 2.08~3.17 years, with an average of 2.43 ± 0.63 years. At the last follow-up after the surgery, the CECD decrease in the operated eyes (5.0%) was similar to that in the contralateral eyes (3.2%) (p = 0.130). There were no significant differences in CECD reduction between the two groups at baseline and each postoperative follow-up (6 months, 12 months and at the last follow-up) (all p > 0.05). The average IOP reduction after the surgery was 50.8%, and the number of IOP-lowering medications was significantly reduced (p < 0.05). In addition, visual acuity showed no significant differences during follow-up (p > 0.05). In this study, we found that the CECD reduction of Ex-PRESS shunt-implanted Chinese eyes was similar to that of contralateral eyes without surgery.

Change Patterns in Corneal Intrinsic Aberrations and Nerve Density after Cataract Surgery in Patients with Dry Eye Disease.

This study aimed to evaluate the change patterns in corneal intrinsic aberrations and nerve density after cataract surgery in dry eye disease. The preoperative, 1- and 3-month postoperative dry eye-related parameters were obtained by the Oculus keratograph and the ocular surface disease index questionnaire. The corneal intrinsic aberrations were measured using the Pentacam HR system. In vivo confocal microscopy was performed to observe the vortical and peripheral corneal nerves. An artificial intelligence technique run by the deep learning model generated the corneal nerve parameters. Corneal aberrations on the anterior and total corneal surfaces were significantly increased at 1 month compared with the baseline (p < 0.05) but gradually returned to the baseline by 3 months (p > 0.05). However, the change in posterior corneal aberration lasted up to 3 months (p < 0.05). There was a significant decrease in the corneal vortical nerve maximum length and average density after the operation (p < 0.05), and this damage lasted approximately 3 months. The corneal vortical nerve maximum length and average density were negatively correlated with the anterior corneal surface aberrations before and 1 month after the operation (correlation coefficients, CC = −0.26, −0.25, −0.28; all p < 0.05). Corneal vortex provided a unique site to observe long-term corneal nerve injury related to eye dryness. The continuous damage to the corneal vortical nerve may be due to the continuous dry eye state.

The Utility of Oral Vitamin B1 and Mecobalamin to Improve Corneal Nerves in Dry Eye Disease: An In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Study.

Our purpose is to demonstrate the changes in cornea nerve parameters and symptoms and signs in dry eye disease (DED) patients after oral vitamin B1 and mecobalamin treatment. In this randomized double-blind controlled trial, DED patients were randomly assigned to either the treatment group (oral vitamin B1 and mecobalamin, artificial tears) or the control group (artificial tears). Corneal nerve parameters via in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM), DED symptoms, and signs were assessed at baseline and 1 and 3 months post-treatment. In total, 398 eyes from 199 patients were included. In the treatment group, there were significant improvements in corneal nerve length, width, and neuromas, the sign of conjunctival congestion score (CCS), symptoms of dryness, pain, photophobia, blurred vision, total symptom score, and OSDI (OSDI) at 1/3 months post-treatment (all p < 0.05). Patients who received vitamin B1 and mecobalamin showed greater improvement in CCS, dryness scores at 1 month (p < 0.05), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) (p = 0.012), photophobia (p = 0.032), total symptom scores (p = 0.041), and OSDI (p = 0.029) at 3 months. Greater continuous improvement in CFS (p = 0.045), dryness (p = 0.033), blurred vision (p = 0.031) and total symptom scores (p = 0.023) was demonstrated at 3 months than at 1 month post-treatment in the treatment group. We found that oral vitamin B1 and mecobalamin can improve corneal nerve length, width, reflectivity and the number of neuromas in IVCM, thereby repairing epithelial cells and alleviating some ocular symptoms. Thus, vitamin B1 and mecobalamin are potential treatment options for patients with DED.

CD7 CAR T bridging to allo-HSCT in R/R T-ALL: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Refractory/relapsed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R T-ALL) is a hematological malignancy with a poor prognosis. The current treatment strategy has not benefited most patients, and the treatment methods are still being explored. CASE PRESENTATION: An 8-year-old boy with R/R T-ALL achieved CR after multiple chemotherapies, followed by the first allo-HSCT. Unfortunately, 1 year and 3 months later, he relapsed. After recurrence, the patient underwent multiple chemotherapies, but the NOTCH1 gene and MRD were still positive. FCM and immunohistochemistry revealed abnormally high expression of CD7, so we considered bridging the second allo-HSCT after CD7 CAR T-cells treatment. The patient has low toxic and side effects and is still in CR, findings from this case report have more important therapeutic significance for R/R T-ALL. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, CD7 CAR T-cells bridging to allo-HSCT is a safe and effective approach for R/R T-ALL, resulting in durable CR and longer survival.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells in hematologic malignancies: two sides of the same coin.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of bone marrow cells originating from immature myeloid cells. They exert potent immunosuppressive activity and are closely associated with the development of various diseases such as malignancies, infections, and inflammation. In malignant tumors, MDSCs, one of the most dominant cellular components comprising the tumor microenvironment, play a crucial role in tumor growth, drug resistance, recurrence, and immune escape. Although the role of MDSCs in solid tumors is currently being extensively studied, little is known about their role in hematologic malignancies. In this review, we comprehensively summarized and reviewed the different roles of MDSCs in hematologic malignancies and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and finally discussed current targeted therapeutic strategies.Affiliation: Kindly check and confirm the processed affiliations are correct. Amend if any.correct.