Is Kidney Function Associated with Age-Related Macular Degeneration?: Findings from the Asian Eye Epidemiology Consortium.

PURPOSE: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) may elevate susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) because of shared risk factors, pathogenic mechanisms, and genetic polymorphisms. Given the inconclusive findings in prior studies, we investigated this association using extensive datasets in the Asian Eye Epidemiology Consortium. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-one thousand two hundred fifty-three participants from 10 distinct population-based Asian studies. METHODS: Age-related macular degeneration was defined using the Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System, the International Age-Related Maculopathy Epidemiological Study Group Classification, or the Beckman Clinical Classification. Chronic kidney disease was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of less than 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2. A pooled analysis using individual-level participant data was performed to examine the associations between CKD and eGFR with AMD (early and late), adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, body mass index, smoking status, total cholesterol, and study groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Odds ratio (OR) of early and late AMD. RESULTS: Among 51 253 participants (mean age, 54.1 ± 14.5 years), 5079 had CKD (9.9%). The prevalence of early AMD was 9.0%, and that of late AMD was 0.71%. After adjusting for confounders, individuals with CKD were associated with higher odds of late AMD (OR, 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-1.93; P = 0.008). Similarly, poorer kidney function (per 10-unit eGFR decrease) was associated with late AMD (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.05-1.19; P = 0.001). Nevertheless, CKD and eGFR were not associated significantly with early AMD (all P ≥ 0.149). CONCLUSIONS: Pooled analysis from 10 distinct Asian population-based studies revealed that CKD and compromised kidney function are associated significantly with late AMD. This finding further underscores the importance of ocular examinations in patients with CKD. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

Diabetic Retinopathy and Chronic Kidney Disease: Associations and Comorbidities in a Large Diabetic Population - The Tongren Health Care Study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to investigate associations between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes (TD2). METHODS: The participants of the cross-sectional, community-based Tongren Health Care Study underwent a detailed medical and ophthalmological examination. We defined TD2 by a fasting plasma glucose concentration of ≥7.0 mmol/L or a medical history. CKD was classified as either reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of <60 mL/min/1.73 mm2 or presence of albuminuria. DR was assessed using color fundus photographs. RESULTS: Out of 62,217 participants of the Tongren Health Care Study, 5,103 (8.2%) patients had TD2. The prevalence of DR was 12.8% (95% CI, 11.8%, 13.7%), CKD was 13.3% (95% CI, 12.4%, 14.3%), and the subtypes of CKD including reduced eGFR and albuminuria was 4.6% (95% CI, 4.2%, 5.1%) and 10.1% (95% CI, 9.3%, 10.9%), respectively. DR was detectable in 21.0% of the patients with CKD, while CKD was present in 20.9% of the DR patients. Higher DR prevalence was associated with higher prevalence of albuminuria and reduced eGFR (both p < 0.05). Factors independently associated with the presence of CKD instead of DR were older age (p < 0.001, OR = 1.05), a higher body mass index (p < 0.001, OR = 1.14), a higher serum concentration of triglycerides (p < 0.001, OR = 1.26), and a lower blood glucose (p < 0.001, OR = 0.93). Having hypertension was additionally associated with the presence of reduced eGFR as compared with DR (p = 0.005, OR = 4.47). CONCLUSIONS: TD2 patients of older age and with higher body mass index, hypertension, and dyslipidemia had a higher probability of being affected by CKD rather than DR, while those with a higher blood glucose level were more prone to DR than CKD.

Ammonia Electrosynthesis with a Stable Metal-Free 2D Silicon Phosphide Catalyst.

Metal-free 2D phosphorus-based materials are emerging catalysts for ammonia (NH3 ) production through a sustainable electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction route under ambient conditions. However, their efficiency and stability remain challenging due to the surface oxidization. Herein, a stable phosphorus-based electrocatalyst, silicon phosphide (SiP), is explored. Density functional theory calculations certify that the N2 activation can be realized on the zigzag Si sites with a dimeric end-on coordinated mode. Such sites also allow the subsequent protonation process via the alternating associative mechanism. As the proof-of-concept demonstration, both the crystalline and amorphous SiP nanosheets (denoted as C-SiP NSs and A-SiP NSs, respectively) are obtained through ultrasonic exfoliation processes, but only the crystalline one enables effective and stable electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction, in terms of an NH3 yield rate of 16.12 µg h-1  mgcat. -1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 22.48% at -0.3 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. The resistance to oxidization plays the decisive role in guaranteeing the NH3 electrosynthesis activity for C-SiP NSs. This surface stability endows C-SiP NSs with the capability to serve as appealing electrocatalysts for nitrogen reduction reactions and other promising applications.

GUNN's DOTS AS INDICATORS OF RENAL FUNCTION, FINDINGS FROM THE TONGREN HEALTH CARE STUDY.

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of Gunn's dots (GDs) and associated systemic factors in adult Chinese. METHODS: A cross-sectional study enrolling participants older than 45 years from a community-based study. Gunn's dots were evaluated using fundus photography, and associated systemic factors were analyzed. Patients with any retinal or optic neuropathy were excluded. RESULTS: The study included 4,118 participants (mean age: 58.3 ± 9.9 years; male: 1,699/41.3%). Gunn's dots were found in 931 participants, with a prevalence of 22.6 ± 0.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 21.3-23.9). Systemic factors associated with a higher GD prevalence were younger age (odds ratio [OR]: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.91-0.93; P < 0.001), higher estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.001-1.02; P = 0.022), and higher serum concentration of triglycerides (OR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.004-1.16; P = 0.040). The GD prevalence was 3.5 (OR = 3.46; 95% CI: 1.06-11.35) and 4.4 (OR = 4.37; 95% CI: 1.27-15.09) times greater for participants with an eGFR of ≥90 mL/minute/1.73 m2 and an eGFR of ≥100 mL/minute/1.73 m2, respectively, as compared with participants with an eGFR of <60 mL/minute/1.73 m2. CONCLUSION: The GD prevalence (mean: 22.6%) was associated with younger age, higher eGFR, and higher serum triglyceride concentrations. The presence of GDs may serve as indicators of healthy renal function.

Smartphone-Based Social Distance Detection Technology with Near-Ultrasonic Signal.

With the emergence of COVID-19, social distancing detection is a crucial technique for epidemic prevention and control. However, the current mainstream detection technology cannot obtain accurate social distance in real-time. To address this problem, this paper presents a first study on smartphone-based social distance detection technology based on near-ultrasonic signals. Firstly, according to auditory characteristics of the human ear and smartphone frequency response characteristics, a group of 18 kHz-23 kHz inaudible Chirp signals accompanied with single frequency signals are designed to complete ranging and ID identification in a short time. Secondly, an improved mutual ranging algorithm is proposed by combining the cubic spline interpolation and a two-stage search to obtain robust mutual ranging performance against multipath and NLoS affect. Thirdly, a hybrid channel access protocol is proposed consisting of Chirp BOK, FDMA, and CSMA/CA to increase the number of concurrencies and reduce the probability of collision. The results show that in our ranging algorithm, 95% of the mutual ranging error within 5 m is less than 10 cm and gets the best performance compared to the other traditional methods in both LoS and NLoS. The protocol can efficiently utilize the limited near-ultrasonic channel resources and achieve a high refresh rate ranging under the premise of reducing the collision probability. Our study can realize high-precision, high-refresh-rate social distance detection on smartphones and has significant application value during an epidemic.

Dibenzothiophene-S,S-Dioxide-Based Conjugated Polymers: Highly Efficient Photocatalyts for Hydrogen Production from Water under Visible Light.

Three dibenzothiophene-S,S-dioxide-based alternating copolymers were synthesized by facile Suzuki polymerization for visible light-responsive hydrogen production from water (> 420 nm). Without addition of any cocatalyst, FluPh2-SO showed a photocatalytic efficiency of 3.48 mmol h-1 g-1 , while a larger hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 4.74 mmol h-1 g-1 was achieved for Py-SO, which was ascribed to the improved coplanarity of the polymer that facilitated both intermolecular packing and charge transport. To minimize the possible steric hindrance of FluPh2-SO by replacing 9,9'-diphenylfluorene with fluorene, Flu-SO exhibited a more red-shifted absorption than FluPh2-SO and yielded the highest HER of 5.04 mmol h-1 g-1 . This work highlights the potential of dibenzothiophene-S,S-dioxide as a versatile building block and the rational design strategy for achieving high photocatalytic efficiency.

Self-Sensitized Carbon Nitride Microspheres for Long-Lasting Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogen Generation.

A new type of metal-free photocatalyst is reported having a microsphere core of oxygen-containing carbon nitride and self-sensitized surfaces by covalently linked polymeric triazine dyes. These self-sensitized carbon nitride microspheres exhibit high visible-light activities in photocatalytic H2 generation with excellent stability for more than 100 h reaction. Comparing to the traditional g-C3 N4 with activities terminated at 450 nm, the polymeric triazine dyes on the carbon nitride microsphere surface allow for effective wide-range visible-light harvesting and extend the H2 generation activities up to 600 nm. It is believed that this new type of highly stable self-sensitized metal-free structure opens a new direction of future development of low-cost photocatalysts for efficient and long-term solar fuels production.

Controllable galvanic synthesis of triangular Ag-Pd alloy nanoframes for efficient electrocatalytic methanol oxidation.

Triangular Ag-Pd alloy nanoframes were successfully synthesized through galvanic replacement by using Ag nanoprisms as sacrificial templates. The ridge thickness of the Ag-Pd alloy nanoframes could be readily tuned by adjusting the amount of the Pd source during the reaction. These obtained triangular Ag-Pd alloy nanoframes exhibit superior electrocatalytic activity for the methanol oxidation reaction as compared with the commercial Pd/C catalyst due to the alloyed Ag-Pd composition as well as the hollow-framed structures. This work would be highly impactful in the rational design of future bimetallic alloy nanostructures with high catalytic activity for fuel cell systems.

Amine-Functionalized ZnO Nanosheets for Efficient CO2 Capture and Photoreduction.

Amine-functionalized ZnO nanosheets were prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method by using monoethanolamine, which has a hydroxyl group, for covalent attachment on ZnO and a primary amine group to supply the amine-functionalization. We demonstrate that the terminal amine groups on ZnO surfaces substantially increase the capability of CO2 capture via chemisorption, resulting in effective CO2 activation. As a result, the photogenerated electrons from excited ZnO can more readily reduce the surface-activated CO2, which thereby enhances the activity for photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

One-pot synthesis of CdS nanocrystals hybridized with single-layer transition-metal dichalcogenide nanosheets for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Exploration of low-cost and earth-abundant photocatalysts for highly efficient solar photocatalytic water splitting is of great importance. Although transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) showed outstanding performance as co-catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), designing TMD-hybridized photocatalysts with abundant active sites for the HER still remains challenge. Here, a facile one-pot wet-chemical method is developed to prepare MS2-CdS (M=W or Mo) nanohybrids. Surprisedly, in the obtained nanohybrids, single-layer MS2 nanosheets with lateral size of 4-10 nm selectively grow on the Cd-rich (0001) surface of wurtzite CdS nanocrystals. These MS2-CdS nanohybrids possess a large number of edge sites in the MS2 layers, which are active sites for the HER. The photocatalytic performances of WS2-CdS and MoS2-CdS nanohybrids towards the HER under visible light irradiation (>420 nm) are about 16 and 12 times that of pure CdS, respectively. Importantly, the MS2-CdS nanohybrids showed enhanced stability after a long-time test (16 h), and 70% of catalytic activity still remained.

Efficient CO2 capture and photoreduction by amine-functionalized TiO2.

Amine-functionalization of TiO2 nanoparticles, through a solvothermal approach, substantially increases the affinity of CO2 on TiO2 surfaces through chemisorption. This chemisorption allows for more effective activation of CO2 and charge transfer from excited TiO2 , and significantly enhances the photocatalytic rate of CO2 reduction into methane and CO.

Rational synthesis of triangular Au-Ag(2)S hybrid nanoframes with effective photoresponses.

Triangular Au­Ag2S hybrid nanoframes were successfully synthesised by using Ag nanoprisms as templates through gold coating, etching and sulfuration. These Au­Ag2S hybrid nanoframes exhibit effective photocurrent responses for potential photoelectrochemical applications.

Construction of a highly stable natural silicate-supported molybdenum catalyst for efficient epoxidation of olefins.

Epoxides are important bulk chemicals, playing irreplaceable role in the chemical industry, but facing serious pollution and low productivity in the production process. Therefore, the development of green and efficient epoxidation of olefins by stable catalysts with low prices is of great significance. In this study, a Mo-MATP catalyst was prepared by modifying Mo(CO)6 on attapulgite through Si-O bonding. Mo-MATP exhibits excellent performance (99% yield of cyclooctane oxide, CYCO) and stability (80% selectivity of CYCO after 17 cycles), highly tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) utilization, and extensive substrate scalability. Furthermore, the in-situ Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Electron Spin-resonance Spectroscopy (ESR) and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) spectra suggest that TBHP would be activated by Mo-MATP to generate peroxyl radicals, which then oxidize alkenes to their corresponding epoxides. In this study, the stable loading of Mo would largely solve the problem of Mo loss during the catalytic process, thus providing a stable and dispersed Mo active center, enabling the catalyst to possess high catalytic performance and recycling stability.

Lamina Cribrosa Configurations in Highly Myopic and Non-Highly Myopic Eyes: The Beijing Eye Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of lamina cribrosa (LC) configuration in highly myopic (HM) eyes. Methods: Participants from the Beijing Eye Study 2011, free of optic nerve or retinal diseases, were randomly selected to examine LC depth (LCD) and LC tilt (LCT) using three-dimensional optical coherent tomography images of the optic nerve head (ONH). LCD and LCT were measured as the distance and angle between the LC plane with two reference planes, including the Bruch's membrane opening (BMO) plane and the peripapillary sclera (PPS) plane, respectively. Each parameter was measured in both horizontal and vertical B-scans. Results: The study included 685 individuals (685 eyes) aged 59.6 ± 7.7 years, including 72 HM eyes and 613 non-HM eyes. LCD measurements showed no significant differences between HM eyes and non-HM eyes in both horizontal (LCD-BMO = 421.83 ± 107.86 µm for HM eyes vs. 447.24 ± 104.94 µm for non-HM eyes, P = 0.18; and LCD-PPS = 406.39 ± 127.69 µm vs. 394.00 ± 101.64 µm, P = 1.00) and vertical directions (LCD-BMO = 435.78 ± 101.29 µm vs. 450.97 ± 106.54 µm, P = 0.70; and LCD-PPS = 401.62 ± 109.9 µm vs. 379.85 ± 110.35 µm, P = 0.35). However, the LCT was significantly more negative (tilted) in HM eyes than in non-HM eyes horizontally (LCT-BMO = -4.38 ± 5.94 degrees vs. -0.04 ± 5.86 degrees, P < 0.001; and LCT-PPS = -3.16 ± 5.23 degrees vs. -0.94 ± 4.71 degrees, P = 0.003), but not vertically (P = 1.00). Conclusions: Although LCD did not differ significantly between HM and non-HM eyes, LCT was more negative in HM eyes, suggesting that the temporal or inferior side of the LC was closer to the reference plane. These findings provide insights into morphological and structural changes in the LC and ONH between HM and non-HM eyes.

Surfactant-free sub-2 nm ultrathin triangular gold nanoframes.

Ultrathin triangular gold nanoframes are synthesized in high yield through selective gold deposition on the edges of triangular silver nanoprisms and subsequent silver etching with mild wet etchants. These ultrathin gold nanoframes are surfactant-free with tailorable ridge thickness from 1.8 to 6 nm and exhibit adjustable and distinct surface plasmon resonance bands in the visible and near-IR region. In comparison, etching of the nanoprism template by galvanic replacement can only create frame structures with much thicker ridges, which have much lower catalytic activity for 4-nitrophenol reduction than the ultrathin gold nanoframes.

Artificial photosynthetic hydrogen evolution over g-C3N4 nanosheets coupled with cobaloxime.

We report an economic and noble-metal-free artificial photosynthetic system, consisting of g-C3N4 as a photosensitizer and a photocatalyst, and cobaloxime as a co-catalyst, for H2 generation. This system allows for effective electron transfer from excited g-C3N4 to Co(III)(dmgH)2pyCl to generate reduced cobaloxime intermediate species for efficient H2 evolution. Transient fluorescence studies reveal that the presence of cobaloxime and TEOA promotes the population of excited electrons to transfer from g-C3N4, which is responsible for the high photocatalytic activity of this g-C3N4-cobaloxime conjugation system.

Ligand-assisted morphology regulation of AuNi bimetallic nanocrystals for efficient hydrogen evolution.

We report the controllable synthesis of AuNi core-shell (c-AuNi) and Janus (j-AuNi) nanocrystals (NCs) with uniform shape, tunable size and compositions in the presence of trioctylphosphine (TOP) or triphenylphosphine (TPP). The morphology of the AuNi bimetallic NCs could be regulated by varying the structure and concentration of phosphine ligands. The ligand-directed structural evolution mechanism of AuNi bimetallic NCs was investigated and discussed in detail. When loaded on graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) for photocatalytic hydrogen generation, the obtained j-AuNi NCs showed much higher activity for hydrogen evolution than the monometallic (Au and Ni) counterparts, owing to the synergistic effect of plasmon enhanced light absorption from the Au portion and additional electron sink effect from the Ni portion. This work provides a promising route for preparing low-cost Au-based bimetallic catalysts with controllable morphologies and high activities for hydrogen production.

Tuning the olefin-VOCs epoxidation performance of ceria by mechanochemical loading of coinage metal.

Under the background of carbon dioxide emission reduction, how to realize the treatment and the high value-added conversion of typical olefin volatile organic compounds (olefin-VOCs), such as styrene, is a big challenge. In this contribution, the ceria-supported coinage metal catalysts (M/CeO2, M = Au, Ag, and Cu) are successfully synthesized by a dry mechanochemical method, and their catalytic performance for styrene-VOC epoxidation with tert-butyl hydrogen peroxide (TBHP) as an oxidant to prepare high-value styrene oxide (SO) is investigated. The oxygen vacancies of ceria play a key role in the anchoring of metal nanoparticles. After ball milling, Au(III) is partially reduced and coexists on ceria in two valence states (Au3+ and Au0), and the reactive oxygen species of the as-prepared catalyst are enhanced. The catalytic behaviors, including solvents effect, substrate concentration, oxidant ratio, catalyst dosage, reaction time, and temperature, are systematically investigated. Au/CeO2 exhibits good styrene epoxidation performance with a total styrene conversion of 94% and a SO yield of 63%, along with good reusability and substrate scalability. Thermodynamics and kinetics show that Au/CeO2 was more favorable for styrene epoxidation and this reaction is dominated by the rate of intrinsic chemical reactions on the surface of the catalyst. Based on experimental discussions and a set of characterizations (XPS, XRD, in-situ FT-IR, ESR, ESI-HSMS, etc.), the mechanism is revealed as the synergistic catalysis between the reactive oxygen species of Au/CeO2 and the peroxide radicals generated by the homolysis of TBHP.

Macular outer nuclear layer, ellipsoid zone and outer photoreceptor segment band thickness, axial length and other determinants.

The study aims to assess the thickness of the retinal outer nuclear layer (ONL), ellipsoid zone (EZ) and photoreceptor outer segment (POS) band in various macular regions and its associations with axial length and other parameters. Participants of the Beijing Eye Study 2011 underwent a series of examinations including spectral-domain optical coherence tomography of the macula. The current study included 2213 participants without retinal or optic nerve diseases (age: 61.7 ± 8.4 years; range 50-93 years); axial length: 23.15 ± 0.95 mm; range 18.96-29.15 mm). The ONL (fovea: 98.9 ± 8.8 µm), EZ (fovea: 24.1 ± 0.5 µm) and POS band (fovea: 24.3 ± 3.5 µm) were the thickest (P < 0.001) in the fovea (defined as the thinnest central point), followed by the temporal inner, nasal inner, inferior inner, superior inner, inferior outer, temporal outer, nasal outer, and superior outer region. In multivariable analysis, a thicker retinal ONL was associated (correlation coefficient r: 0.40) with shorter axial length (beta: - 0.14; P < 0.001) and shorter disc-fovea distance (beta: - 0.10; P = 0.001), after adjusting for younger age (beta: - 0.26; P < 0.001), male sex (beta: 0.24; P < 0.001), lower serum cholesterol concentration (beta: - 0.05; P = 0.04), and thicker subfoveal choroidal thickness (beta: 0.08; P < 0.001). The POS thickness increased with shorter axial length (beta: - 0.06; P < 0.001) and shorter optic disc-fovea distance (beta: - 0.05; P = 0.03), after adjusting for younger age (beta: - 0.34; P < 0.001), male sex (beta: 0.15; P < 0.001), and thicker subfoveal choroidal thickness (beta: 0.24; P < 0.001). As a conclusion, the photoreceptor ONL, EZ and POS band vary in thickness between different macular regions and differ in their correlations with axial length, disc-fovea distance, age, sex, and subfoveal choroidal thickness. The ONL thickness decrease with longer axial length and longer disc-fovea distance may point to an axial elongation-associated retinal stretching in the macula.

Visible light driven reform of wasted plastics to generate green hydrogen over mesoporous ZnIn2S4.

As the global consumption of plastics keeps increasing, the accumulated plastics in the natural environment have threatened the survival of human beings. Photoreforming, as a simple and low-energy way, could transform wasted plastic into fuel and small organic chemicals at ambient temperature. However, the previously reported photocatalysts have some drawbacks, such as low efficiency, containing precious or toxic metal. Herein, a noble-free, non-toxic, and easy prepared mesoporous ZnIn2S4 photocatalyst has been applied in photoreforming of polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyurethane (PU), generating small organic chemicals and H2 fuel under simulated sunlight. Plastic was degraded into small organic molecules after the pretreatment, which futher acted as the substrate for photoreforming. Mesoporous ZnIn2S4 exhibits high H2 production efficiency, strong redox ability, and long-term photostability. Furthermore, mesoporous ZnIn2S4 could overcome the hindrances of dyes and additives of realistic wasted plastic bags and bottles with high decomposition efficiency, providing an efficient and sustainable strategy for the upcycling of wasted plastics.