The relationship between accommodative and binocular function with myopia progression in myopic children undergoing orthokeratology.

PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between changes in accommodative and binocular function with myopia progression in myopic children over a two-year follow-up period, and to determine when changes in visual functions stabilized after switching from spectacles to orthokeratology (Ortho-K). METHODS: This prospective, self-controlled study followed thirty-six participants (aged 8-14 years) for two years after they switched from spectacles to Ortho-K. Accommodative and binocular function were assessed prior to and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after commencing Ortho-K. Measurements included accommodative amplitude, accommodative response, accommodative facility, accommodative convergence/accommodation (AC/A), ocular alignment, positive relative accommodation (PRA), negative relative accommodation (NRA), horizontal vergence range, reading ability and stereoacuity. Myopia progression was quantified by the change in axial length. RESULTS: Ocular alignment, monocular and binocular accommodative facility, and PRA stabilized after 1 month. The distance blur point in the convergence range, the distance break and recovery point in the divergence range, accommodative amplitude, calculated AC/A, stereoacuity and reading ability stabilized within 6 months. After two years of Ortho-K, NRA significantly increased (p = 0.044), while it showed no significant difference after one-year of lens wear (p = 0.49). The distance break point in the convergence range showed no significant difference (p = 0.20), but significantly decreased after one-year (p = 0.005). There were no significant correlations between the change in axial length with changes in accommodative or binocular function (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Accommodative and binocular function changed significantly after switching from spectacles to Ortho-K and most of the parameters stabilized within the first 6 months. There was no association between the change in accommodative or binocular function and myopia progression.

Exploration of Ion Transport in Blends of an Ionic Liquid and a Polymerized Ionic Liquid Graft Copolymer.

In this study, we prepared a composite membrane consisting of a poly(1-butyl-3-vinylimidazolium-tetrafluoroborate) (poly([BVIM]-[BF4])) polymerized ionic liquid graft copolymer (PILGC) and a blend of PILGC and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM]-[BF4]) ionic liquid (IL) to explore techniques for improving the conductivity of PILGCs, which is normally three orders of magnitude lower than that of ILs. PILGCs, which are environmentally friendly, have attracted much interest. To gain a better understanding of ion transport in composites, the mechanisms of ion transport in composite components should be explored. We investigated anion transport in ILs and PILGCs and were able to obtain the correct ion transport mechanisms in IL-PILGC blends based on a previous work. We performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which are commonly used to investigate molecular mechanisms. According to the MD simulation results, in most IL-PILGC blends of various compositions, the contributions of cations are greater than those of anions. This is one reason that blends have higher conductivities than their component PILGCs. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to identify ion transport mechanisms in PILGCs and their blends with ILs by exploring subdiffusive ion motion regimes. The ratio of the number of cages with more than three cationic branch chains in the blend with 50 wt % PILGC, the blend with 80 wt % PILGC, and the PILGC was 0.26:0.39:0.65. Therefore, the ratio of firm cages gets a promotion as the PILGC content increases. Because the ratio of fast ions decreases as the ratio of firm cages increases, the blend with 80 wt % PILGC has lower anion diffusivities than the blend with 50 wt % PILGC. It was inappropriate to probe ion transport in PILGCs (or IL-PILGC blends) solely via analyzing ion association interactions. Analysis of only ion association interactions led to the incorrect conclusion that the time scales of ion transport in PILGCs are given by the continuous ion association time, which is the time when the ion association remains paired rather than the time when an ion is caught inside a cage. Proper methods should be used to obtain more accurate theories.

Accommodation and binocular vision changes after wearing orthokeratology lens in 8- to 14-year-old myopic children.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to observe and analyze the dynamic accommodation and binocular vision changes in myopic children after they switched from spectacles to orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses. METHODS: Thirty-six myopic children aged 8-14 years were enrolled in this prospective, self-controlled study from West China Hospital. General information was gathered, and examinations were performed at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after switching to ortho-k lenses. The examination included assessments of distance/near visual acuity, distance/near horizontal and vertical ocular alignment, distance/near horizontal vergence range, accommodative amplitude, monocular/binocular accommodative facility, accommodative response, positive and negative relative accommodation (PRA/NRA), accommodation convergence/accommodation (AC/A), stereopsis, and reading ability. RESULTS: After the children switched to ortho-k lenses, distance and near ocular alignment showed an exophoric shift (distance: p = 0.001, near: p = 0.002), and the horizontal vergence range decreased by different degrees (convergence: distance blur point (p = 0.002), distance break point (p = 0.005), near blur point (p = 0.011), near break point (p = 0.043); divergence: distance break point (p < 0.001), distance recover point (p < 0.001), near recover point (p = 0.005)). The stereopsis ability (p < 0.001), monocular/binocular accommodative facility (p < 0.001), and PRA (p = 0.010) increased. The accommodative lag (p < 0.001), accommodative amplitude (p < 0.001), and calculated and gradient AC/A (calculated: p = 0.001, gradient: p = 0.025) decreased. The adjusted horizontal and vertical reading times and their ratio decreased (all p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The subjects showed distance and near exophoric shifts after switching to ortho-k lenses; improvements in accommodative function, stereopsis, and ocular motility; and a decrease in the binocular horizontal vergence range. The relationships between these changes and the ortho-k myopic control effects require further investigation.

Comparing ion transport in ionic liquids and polymerized ionic liquids.

Polymerized ionic liquids (polyILs) combine the unique properties of ionic liquids (ILs) with macromolecular polymers. But anion diffusivities in polyILs can be three orders of magnitude lower than that in ILs. Endeavors to improve ion transport in polyILs urgently need in-depth insights of ion transport in polyILs. As such in the work we compared ion transport in poly (1-butyl-3-vinylimidazolium-tetrafluoroborate) (poly ([BVIM]-[BF4])) polyIL and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM]-[BF4]) IL. The diffusivities of ions in the polyIL and IL were measured and computed. According to the results of the molecular dynamics simulations performed, in the IL the coupling motion between an anion and the ions around determines the ion diffusivities, and the ion association lifetime gives the time scale of ion transport. But in the polyIL, the hopping of an anion among cages composed of cationic branch chains determines the diffusivity, and the associated anion transport time scale is the trap time, which is the time when an anion is caught inside a cage, not the ion association lifetime, as Mogurampelly et al. regarded. The calculation results of average displacements (ADs) of the polyIL chains show that, besides free volume fraction, average amplitudes of the oscillation of chains and chain translation speed lead to various diffusivities at various temperatures.

Immobilization of penicillin G acylase on macro-mesoporous silica spheres.

In this study, macro-mesoporous silica spheres were prepared with a micro-device and used as the support for the immobilization of penicillin G acylase (PGA). To measure the enzymatic activity, the silica spheres with immobilized PGA were placed into a packed-bed reactor, in which the hydrolysis of penicillin G was carried out. The influences of the residence time, the initial concentration of the substrate, the accumulation of the target product 6-aminopenicillanic acid, and the enzyme loading amount on the performance of the immobilized PGA were investigated. The introduction of macropores increased the enzyme loading amount and decreased the internal mass transfer resistance, and the results showed that the enzyme loading amount reached 895 mg/g (dry support), and the apparent enzymatic activity achieved up to 1033 U/g (dry support). In addition, the immobilized PGA was found to have great stability.

Covalent immobilization of penicillin G acylase on aminopropyl-functionalized mesostructured cellular foams.

Mesostructured cellular foams (MCFs) are suitable for biomolecular immobilization because of their relatively large-pore diameter and pore volume. Penicillin G acylase (PGA) was immobilized on aminopropyl-functionalized MCFs through Schiff base reaction. It is shown that PGA could be fixed more firmly through the covalent immobilization on aminopropyl-functionalized MCFs support than through the adsorption immobilization on blank MCFs. The PGA loading amount on the aminopropyl-functionalized MCFs could reach 443 mg/g (dry support), and the apparent activity could achieve up to 4138 U/g (dry support). The influence of the amount of grafted aminopropyl group was studied, and it is found that the optimal molar ratio of MCFs to APTS was 15/1; in addition, the suitable enzyme distribution density for the specific activity of the immobilized PGA was 0.7 mg enzyme per m(2) of specific area of MCFs.

Model study on transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel with methanol using solid base catalyst.

Modeling of the transesterification of vegetable oils to biodiesel using a solid base as a catalyst is very important because the mutual solubilities of oil and methanol will increase with the increasing biodiesel yield. The heterogeneous liquid-liquid-solid reaction system would become a liquid-solid system when the biodiesel reaches a certain content. In this work, we adopted a two-film theory and a steady state approximation assumption, then established a heterogeneous liquid-liquid-solid model in the first stage. After the diffusion coefficients on the liquid-liquid interface and the liquid-solid interface were calculated on the basis of the properties of the system, the theoretical value of biodiesel productivity changing with time was obtained. The predicted values were very near the experimental data, which indicated that the proposed models were suitable for the transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel when solid bases were used as catalysts. Meanwhile, the model indicated that the transesterification reaction was controlled by both mass transfer and reaction. The total resistance will decrease with the increase in biodiesel yield in the liquid-liquid-solid stage. The solid base catalyst exhibited an activation energy range of 9-20 kcal/mol, which was consistent with the reported activation energy range of homogeneous catalysts.

Hydrothermal Formation of the Head-to-Head Coalesced Szaibelyite MgBO(2)(OH) Nanowires.

The significant effect of the feeding mode on the morphology and size distribution of the hydrothermal synthesized MgBO(2)(OH) is investigated, which indicates that, slow dropping rate (0.5 drop s(-1)) and small droplet size (0.02 mL d(-1)) of the dropwise added NaOH solution are favorable for promoting the one-dimensional (1D) preferential growth and thus enlarging the aspect ratio of the 1D MgBO(2)(OH) nanostructures. The joint effect of the low concentration of the reactants and feeding mode on the hydrothermal product results in the head-to-head coalesced MgBO(2)(OH) nanowires with a length of 0.5-9.0 mum, a diameter of 20-70 nm, and an aspect ratio of 20-300 in absence of any capping reagents/surfactants or seeds.

Hydrothermal preparation of boehmite nanorods by selective adsorption of sulfate.

A facile hydrothermal method was developed to synthesize boehmite nanorods with a length of 50-2000 nm, a diameter of 6-20 nm, and a preferential growth along [100] by treating the Al(OH)(3) gel in acidified sulfate solutions at 240 degrees C. Studies on the hydrothermal treatment of Al(OH)(3) gel in sulfate solutions showed that the morphology and the composition of the hydrothermal products were connected with the sulfate concentration and the pH of the hydrothermal solution. The aspect ratio of the boehmite nanorods increased to 300 as the initial H(2)SO(4) concentration increased to 0.043 mol x L(-1), whereas boehmite nanorods and (H(3)O)Al(3)(SO(4))(2)(OH)(6) cubic particles coexisted in the case of the initial H(2)SO(4) concentration > or = 0.054 mol x L (-1). Sole boehmite nanoflakes with a diameter of about 50 nm were formed under alkaline conditions (pH 10.5) despite the existence of the sulfate. The chemical and Raman analyses indicated that SO(4)(2-) in acidified solutions adsorbed on the boehmite surface via H-bonds. On the basis of the above results, the growth of boehmite along the [100] direction was attributed to the selective adsorption of SO(4) (2-) on the (010) and (001) planes of boehmite.