Photoinduced Site-Selective Aryl C-H Borylation with Electron-Donor-Acceptor Complex Derived from B2Pin2 and Isoquinoline.

Due to boron's metalloid properties, aromatic boron reagents are prevalent synthetic intermediates. The direct borylation of aryl C-H bonds for producing aromatic boron compounds offers an appealing, one-step solution. Despite significant advances in this field, achieving regioselective aryl C-H bond borylation using simple and readily available starting materials still remains a challenge. In this work, we attempted to enhance the reactivity of the electron-donor-acceptor (EDA) complex by selecting different bases to replace the organic base (NEt3) used in our previous research. To our delight, when using NH4HCO3 as the base, we have achieved a mild visible-light-mediated aromatic C-H bond borylation reaction with exceptional regioselectivity (rr > 40:1 to single isomers). Compared with our previous borylation methodologies, this protocol provides a more efficient and broader scope for aryl C-H bond borylation through the use of N-Bromosuccinimide. The protocol's good functional-group tolerance and excellent regioselectivity enable the functionalization of a variety of biologically relevant compounds and novel cascade transformations. Mechanistic experiments and theoretical calculations conducted in this study have indicated that, for certain arenes, the aryl C-H bond borylation might proceed through a new reaction mechanism, which involves the formation of a novel transient EDA complex.

Integrin α5ß1 promotes BMCs mobilization and differentiation to exacerbate choroidal neovascularization.

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is an acknowledged pathogenic mechanism of various ocular diseases, and in situ cells and mobilized bone marrow-derived cells (BMCs) are thought to participate in this process. We aimed to evaluate the roles of integrin α5 in BMCs and vascular endothelial cells (VECs) in the CNV process mediated by SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling. Adult wild-type mice were engrafted with whole BMCs obtained from GFP transgenic mice and then laser injured to induce CNV. BMCs and RF/6A cells were cultured to discover the mechanism of CNV in vitro. BMCs were mobilized to CNV areas, which expressed elevated SDF-1 and CXCR4. When SDF-1 was intravitreally injected, the number of BMCs was profoundly increased. In the SDF-1-treated group, the levels of integrin α5 expressed on BMCs and VECs were significantly higher than those on the cells in the control group. SDF-1 significantly increased the expression and positive ratio of integrin α5, which was involved in the recruitment and differentiation of BMCs into BMC-derived VECs, and these effects were suppressed by the CXCR4 inhibitor AMD3100. The PI3K/AKT pathway rather than the ERK pathway mediated SDF-1/CXCR4 induction of integrin α5. Integrin α5 suppression efficiently prevented the production of TGF-ß and bFGF but not VEGF. Inhibiting the SDF-1/CXCR4-PI3K/AKT-integrin α5 axis reduced CNV severity. Integrin α5 participates in BMC recruitment and differentiation in SDF-1/CXCR4-induced CNV and inhibition of this pathway may be a new approach to inhibit CNV.

Optimization Design and Flexible Detection Method of Wall-Climbing Robot System with Multiple Sensors Integration for Magnetic Particle Testing.

Weld detection is vital to the quality of ship construction and navigation safety, and numerous detection robots have been developed and widely applied. Focusing on the current bottleneck of robot safety, efficiency, and intelligent detection, this paper developed a wall-climbing robot that integrates multiple sensors and uses fluorescent magnetic powder for nondestructive testing. We designed a moving mechanism that can safely move on a curved surface and a serial-parallel hybrid flexible detection mechanism that incorporates a force sensor to solve the robot's safe adsorption and a flexible detection of the curved surface to complete the flaw detection operation. We optimized the system structure and improved the overall performance of the robot by establishing a unified mechanical model for different operating conditions. Based on the collected sensor information, a multi-degree of freedom component collaborative flexible detection method with a standard detecting process was developed to complete efficient, high-quality detection. Results showed that the developed wall-climbing robot can move safely and steadily on the complex facade and can complete the flaw detection of wall welds.

Optimization Design and Flexible Detection Method of a Surface Adaptation Wall-Climbing Robot with Multisensor Integration for Petrochemical Tanks.

Recently, numerous wall-climbing robots have been developed for petrochemical tank maintenance. However, most of them are difficult to be widely applied due to common problems such as poor adsorption capacity, low facade adaptability, and low detection accuracy. In order to realize automatic precise detection, an innovative wall-climbing robot system was designed. Based on magnetic circuit optimization, a passive adaptive moving mechanism that can adapt to the walls of different curvatures was proposed. In order to improve detection accuracy and efficiency, a flexible detection mechanism combining with a hooke hinge that can realize passive vertical alignment was designed to meet the detection requirements. Through the analysis of mechanical models under different working conditions, a hierarchical control system was established to complete the wall thickness and film thickness detection. The results showed that the robot could move safely and stably on the facade, as well as complete automatic precise detection.

Protective effects of hydrogen gas in a rat model of branch retinal vein occlusion via decreasing VEGF-α expression.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress (OS) is an essential factor in the pathogenesis of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Studies have demonstrated the role of hydrogen gas in the regulation of OS. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of hydrogen gas on the BRVO rat model. METHODS: Twenty-four BRVO rats were randomly divided into two groups: the hydrogen gas (H) group (42% H2, 21% O2, 37% N2) and the model (M) group (21% O2, 79% N2). Rats in the H group inhaled hydrogen gas for 8 h every day up to 30 d post-occlusion. Twelve age-matched healthy rats served as the control (C) group. Retinal function and morphology were detected at 1, 7, 14 and 30 d post-occlusion. Furthermore, the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-α) was detected by immunofluorescent staining. RESULTS: Full-field electroretinography (ffERG) revealed that the amplitude of the b-wave (dark-adaptation 3.0 response), the amplitude of the OPs2 wave and the light-adapted flicker response in the H group were all higher than those in the M group at 7 d post-occlusion (all p < 0.05). The reopen time of occlusive retinal vessels in the H group was 2.235 ± 1.128 d, which was shorter than that in the M group (4.234 ± 2.236 d, p < 0.05). The rats in the H group had a thinner IPL + GCL + NFL and an increased total retina compared with those in the M group at 3 d post-occlusion (p < 0.05), while the rats in the H group had a thicker INL, IPL + GCL + NFL and total retina compared with those at 7, 14 and 30 d post-occlusion (p < 0.05). Moreover, the flow velocity of ear vein blood was increased in the H group compared with that in the M group (p < 0.05). The expression of VEGF-α in the H group was dramatically decreased compared with that in the M group at 1, 7 and 14 d post-occlusion (p < 0.05), while the expression kept in similar level at 30 d post-occlusion (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that inhalation of hydrogen gas could alleviate retinal oedema, shorten reopen time and improve retinal function, and the potential mechanism might be related to a decrease in VEGF-α expression.

SNAI1, an endothelial-mesenchymal transition transcription factor, promotes the early phase of ocular neovascularization.

Ocular neovascularization is a comprehensive process involved in retinal vascular development and several blinding diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinopathy of prematurity, with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) regarded as the master regulator. However, the qualified effect of anti-VEGF therapy reveals that the underlying mechanisms are still not clearly identified. To initialize angiogenesis, endothelial cells undergo a phenotype switching to generate highly migratory and invasive cells. This process shares certain similar characters observed in endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). Here, we found that SNAI1, an EndMT transcription factor, was expressed by endothelial cells in both physiological and pathological ocular neovascularization. SNAI1 overexpression triggered cell morphological change and enhanced cell motility, while loss of SNAI1 attenuated migration, invasion and sprouting. RNA sequence analysis further revealed that SNAI1 knockdown decreased the expression of genes related to cytoskeleton rearrangement and ECM remodeling. Moreover, intravitreal injection of small interfering RNA of SNAI1 suppressed new vessel formation in developing retina as well as mice model of choroidal neovascularization and oxygen-induced retinopathy. Therefore, we propose that the EndMT transcription factor SNAI1 promotes the early phase of ocular neovascularization and may provide a potential therapeutic target.

MicroRNA-188-5p regulates contribution of bone marrow-derived cells to choroidal neovascularization development by targeting MMP-2/13.

Our previous investigations have shown that bone marrow-derived cells (BMCs), including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), contribute to the development of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) as sources of cells and angiogenic factors. Two main steps for circulating BMCs to integrate into CNV lesions are extracellular matrix remodeling and consequential cell migration. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were found to be involved in CNV development; however, little is known about whether miRNAs regulate the contribution of BMCs to CNV. In the present study, we found that the expression of miR-188-5p was decreased in cultured hypoxic MSCs and BMCs within laser-induced CNV in mice. Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and MMP-13 were both discovered as targets of miR-188-5p by bioinformatics predictions and dual-luciferase reporter system. Accordingly, increased expression of MMP-2/13 was found in hypoxic MSCs and BMCs in CNV lesions. Furthermore, miR-188-5p mimic transfection caused downregulation of MMP-2/13 in hypoxic MSCs and decreased tube formation of co-cultured vascular endothelial cells. Intravitreal injections of a miR-188-5p agomir attenuated the severity of CNV and inhibited the migration of BMCs into CNV lesions in mice. Our study suggests that miR-188-5p regulates the contribution of BMCs to CNV development by targeting MMP-2/13-mediated extracellular matrix degeneration, and miR-188-5p serves as a therapeutic target to treat CNV-related diseases.

Demographic profile and ocular characteristics of stage 5 retinopathy of prematurity at a referral center in Northwest China: implications for implementation.

BACKGROUND: Severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with extremely unfavorable prognosis among infants can do great damage to individuals and bring tremendous social-economic burden. The purpose of this study is to describe the demographic and ocular characteristics of infants who presented with stage 5 ROP in order to identify reasons why they have become blind, and to identify contributing factors in order to focus great attention on the current ROP program and to inspire more effort in ROP screening in middle income countries. METHODS: A retrospective review of consecutive infants with stage 5 ROP from December 2010 to December 2016 in Department of Ophthalmology, Xijing Hospital. Various parameters retrieved included birthweight, gestational age, age at initial examination, postmenstrual age, screening details, check-up details and reasons for consultation. Ocular findings were recorded and also detected by ultrasonography. RESULTS: A retrospective review of 20 consecutive infants with stage 5 ROP are included. Mean birthweight was1712.3 ± 512.97 g and mean gestational age at birth was 32.1 ± 2.21 weeks. Median age at first consultancy was 9.7 month. Median postmenstrual age first consultancy was 52 weeks. All infants were never screened for ROP before they came to the referral center. Of twenty stage 5 ROP infants, 13 cases presented with bilateral stage 5 features. Of the 40 eyes of 20 infants, 33 eyes were diagnosed as stage 5. Leukocoric pupil, closed funnel configuration of retinal detachment (RD), posterior synechia, extraretinal fibrovascular proliferation and retinal folds were the most significant indicators of bad prognosis. Ten eyes appeared no fixation to light, while 30 eyes exhibited following to light or following to toys. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that in relatively less-developed regions of China, more needs to be done to spread awareness about the disease among pediatricians, neonatologists and ophthalmologists as well as parents of premature infants. Thus, a comprehensive control system which is a whole network of propaganda, screening, treatment and follow-up are encouraged especially in less developed areas in China as well as worldwide.

Hydrogen Sulfide Ameliorates Homocysteine-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction by Inhibition of Reactive Aldehydes Involving Upregulation of ALDH2.

Background: Homocysteine, a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, induces cognitive dysfunction. Reactive aldehydes play an important role in cognitive dysfunction. Aldehyde-dehydrogenase 2 detoxifies reactive aldehydes. Hydrogen sulfide, a novel neuromodulator, has neuroprotective effects and regulates learning and memory. Our previous work confirmed that the disturbance of hydrogen sulfide synthesis is invovled in homocysteine-induced defects in learning and memory. Therefore, the present work was to explore whether hydrogen sulfide ameliorates homocysteine-generated cognitive dysfunction and to investigate whether its underlying mechanism is related to attenuating accumulation of reactive aldehydes by upregulation of aldehyde-dehydrogenase 2. Methods: The cognitive function of rats was assessed by the Morris water maze test and the novel object recognition test. The levels of malondialdehyde, 4-hydroxynonenal, and glutathione as well as the activity of aldehyde-dehydrogenase 2 were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; the expression of aldehyde-dehydrogenase 2 was detected by western blot. Results: The behavior experiments, Morris water maze test and novel objects recognition test, showed that homocysteine induced deficiency in learning and memory in rats, and this deficiency was reversed by treatment of NaHS (a donor of hydrogen sulfide). We demonstrated that NaHS inhibited homocysteine-induced increases in generations of MDA and 4-HNE in the hippocampus of rats and that hydrogen sulfide reversed homocysteine-induced decreases in the level of glutathione as well as the activity and expression of aldehyde-dehydrogenase 2 in the hippocampus of rats. Conclusion: Hydrogen sulfide ameliorates homocysteine-induced impairment in cognitive function by decreasing accumulation of reactive aldehydes as a result of upregulations of glutathione and aldehyde-dehydrogenase 2.

[Clinical evaluation of ocriplasmin as a vitreolytic agent].

Incomplete perifoveal posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) associated with abnormal vitreomacular adhesion (VMA) can cause vitreomacular traction (VMT) and macular hole (MH) formation, which require vitrectomy treatment. Pharmacologic vitreolysis, which is intravitreal injection with vitreolytic enzymes to resolve VMA, may be used as an alternative therapy.Ocriplasmin, formerly known as microplasmin, is a recombinant truncated form of plasmin with proteolytic activity against fibronectin and laminin.It was recently approved for VMA treatment in the European Union and USA. Phase III studies indicated that ocriplasmin injection was a safe and effective treatment for selected cases of symptomatic VMA and MH. VMA release was achieved in 26.5% of ocriplasmin-injected eyes versus 10.1% of the placebo group. MH closure was achieved in 40.6% as compared with 10.6% of the placebo group.In comparison with the outcome after vitrectomy, the success rate of ocriplasmin was still far below expectation. Ocular adverse events included vitreous floaters, photopsia and profound visual decline. Its efficacy and safety need to be further evaluated in more clinical trials.

Hydrogen sulfide inhibits homocysteine-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and neuronal apoptosis in rat hippocampus via upregulation of the BDNF-TrkB pathway.

AIM: Homocysteine (Hcy) can elicit neuronal cell death, and hyperhomocysteinemia is a strong independent risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on Hcy-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and neuronal apoptosis in rat hippocampus. METHODS: Adult male SD rats were intracerebroventricularly (icv) injected with Hcy (0.6 µmol/d) for 7 d. Before Hcy injection, the rats were treated with NaHS (30 or 100 µmol·kg(-1)·d(-1), ip) and/or k252a (1 µg/d, icv) for 2 d. The apoptotic neurons were detected in hippocampal coronal slices with TUNEL staining. The expression of glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), cleaved caspase-12, and BDNF in the hippocampus were examined using Western blotting assays. The generation of H2S in the hippocampus was measured with the NNDPD method. RESULTS: Hcy markedly inhibited the production of endogenous H2S and increased apoptotic neurons in the hippocampus. Furthermore, Hcy induced ER stress responses in the hippocampus, as indicated by the upregulation of GRP78, CHOP, and cleaved caspase-12. Treatment with the H2S donor NaHS increased the endogenous H2S production and BDNF expression in a dose-dependent manner, and significantly reduced Hcy-induced neuronal apoptosis and ER stress responses in the hippocampus. Treatment with k252a, a specific inhibitor of TrkB (the receptor of BDNF), abolished the protective effects of NaHS against Hcy-induced ER stress in the hippocampus. CONCLUSION: H2S attenuates ER stress and neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus of Hcy-treated rats via upregulating the BDNF-TrkB pathway.

[Analysis of retinopathy of prematurity with birth weight higher than 2 kg in Xi'an area].

OBJECTIVE: To survey popularity and clinical characteristics of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Xi'an area in infants with birth weight over 2 000 g. METHODS: Retrospective case-series study. ROP screening data of 1 866 infants was collected and reviewed from Department of Ophthalmology, Xijing Hospital from January 2008 to December 2012.One thousand eight hundreds and sixty-six cases (3 732 eyes) with 1 166 males and 700 females were examined. Their gestation age was (34 ± 4) weeks (24-46 weeks), and birth weight was (2 106 ± 743) g (730-4 900 g) . All the related information about infants accepted examinations was screened, inquired and recorded carefully, such as gestation age, birth weight, continuous inhalation of oxygen and respirator applied records.Whether they had asphyxia, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, jaundice, anemia, congenital heart disease was also recorded. Moreover the physical situations of maternity including gestational hypertension, premature rupture of amniotic fluid, placenta abruption and placenta previa were also assessed. Percentiles (P90 and P95) of birth weight in ROP infants were calculated. Birth weight over 2 000 g in ROP patients was identified as high birth weight, whereas birth weight less than 2 000 g was confirmed as low birth weight. Clinical characteristics were compared in the two groups. T-test, Chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test were used for this study. RESULTS: In all the infants examined, 243 cases were screened out as ROP patients with different stages. The positive rate was 13.0%. Among them, 96 cases needed to be treated which was 39.5%. They were severer than pre-threshold Type I. P90 and P95 of birth weight percentiles of these ROP infants were 2 060 g and 2 240 g.If birth weight less than 2 000 g was confirmed as screen guideline, 9.9% patients might be excluded. There were 24 ROP infants whose birth weight were over 2 000 g with gestation age of (33 ± 3) weeks (28-40 weeks) , and with birth weight of (2 411 ± 354) g (2 100-3 300 g) .Six of them needed to be treated, which was 6.3%. Compared with ROP infants with low birth weight, they had almost same stages and risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: High birth weight ROP infants occupies some proportions in Xi'an area. They has no special characteristics or severity compared with low birth weight ones.

Rational design of super reductive EDA photocatalyst for challenging reactions: a theoretical and experimental study.

We reported a novel electron-donor-acceptor (EDA) photocatalyst formed in situ from isoquinoline, a diboron reagent, and a weak base. To further optimize the efficiency of this photocatalyst, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were conducted to investigate the substituent effects on the properties of vertical excitation energy and redox potential. Subsequently, we experimentally validated these effects using a broader range of substituents and varying substitution positions. Notably, the 4-NH2 EDA complex derived from 4-NH2-isoquinoline exhibits the highest photocatalytic efficiency, enabling feasible metal free borylation of aromatic C-H bond and detosylaion of Ts-anilines under green and super mild conditions. These experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy for photocatalyst optimization.

Roles of Phonation Types and Decoders' Gender in Recognizing Mandarin Emotional Speech.

PURPOSE: Capturing phonation types such as breathy, modal, and pressed voices precisely can facilitate the recognition of human emotions. However, little is known about how exactly phonation types and decoders' gender influence the perception of emotional speech. Based on the modified Brunswikian lens model, this article aims to examine the roles of phonation types and decoders' gender in Mandarin emotional speech recognition by virtue of articulatory speech synthesis. METHOD: Fifty-five participants (28 male and 27 female) completed a recognition task of Mandarin emotional speech, with 200 stimuli representing five emotional categories (happiness, anger, fear, sadness, and neutrality) and five types (original, copied, breathy, modal, and pressed). Repeated-measures analyses of variance were performed to analyze recognition accuracy and confusion data. RESULTS: For male and female decoders, the recognition accuracy of anger from pressed stimuli and fear from breathy stimuli was high; across all phonation-type stimuli, the recognition accuracy of sadness was also high, but that of happiness was low. The confusion data revealed that in recognizing fear from all phonation-type stimuli, female decoders chose fear responses more frequently and neutral responses less frequently than male decoders. In recognizing neutrality from breathy stimuli, female decoders significantly reduced their choice of neutral responses and misidentified neutrality as anger, while male decoders mistook neutrality from pressed stimuli for anger. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that, in Mandarin, phonation types play crucial roles in recognizing anger, fear, and neutrality, while the recognition of sadness and happiness seems not to depend heavily on phonation types. Moreover, the decoders' gender affects their recognition of neutrality and fear. These findings support the modified Brunswikian lens model and have significance for diagnosis and intervention among clinical populations with hearing impairment or gender-related psychiatric disorders. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.24302221.

Evaluation of retinal vascularization in retinopathy of prematurity regressed after intravitreal ranibizumab monotherapy or without treatment based on fluorescein angiography.

To investigate the fluorescein angiography (FA) findings and compare the extent of retinal vascularization in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), recovered after intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) monotherapy and those regressed spontaneously. Infants with a history of ROP who underwent FA between April 2018 and November 2021 were retrospectively included. The patients were divided into two groups based on whether they had received IVR (IVR group) or had ROP that regressed spontaneously without treatment (untreated group). The differences between the two groups in zone II ROP were also compared, to equalize the subgroups as much as possible in terms of disease severity. FA findings were recorded. The extent of vascularization was measured by the ratio of the distance from the center of the disk to the border of the vascularized zone (DB) and the distance from the center of the disk to the center of the fovea (DF). The width of the persistent avascular retina (PAR) was counted by disc diameters (DD). One hundred and ten eyes of 55 infants were included in the IVR group and 76 eyes of 38 babies in the untreated group. The ratio of abnormal shape of vessels was significantly higher in the IVR group than in the untreated group (50.9% vs. 35.5%; P = 0.038), while the linear choroidal filling pattern, tortuosity of vessels over the posterior pole, dye leakage, anomalous branching of vessels, circumferential vessels, arteriovenous shunt, abnormal capillary bed, and macular abnormalities were similarly. There was a smaller temporal DB/DF ratio (4.48 vs. 4.63; P = 0.003) and greater PAR (2.63 vs. 1.76; P < 0.001) in the IVR group compared to the untreated group. In zone II ROP, the progression of retinal vascularization was significantly larger in the IVR group than that in the untreated group (P = 0.003), while no statistical differences were observed in FA features, the DB/DF ratio, and PAR between the two subgroups. The residual vascular abnormalities and PAR may be common results of ROP regression. The DB/DF ratio of 4.0 temporally and 3.3 nasally could be used as the preliminary indicators for safe retinal vascularization in the completion of ROP regression.

Differential analysis of aqueous humor cytokine levels in patients with macular edema secondary to diabetic retinopathy or retinal vein occlusion.

AIM: To evaluate the difference and the correlation between the concentrations of cytokines in the aqueous humor of eyes with macular edema secondary to diabetic retinopathy (DR) or retinal vein occlusion (RVO). METHODS: This is a retrospective case control study. The aqueous humor samples were collected during intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for patients diagnosed with macular edema secondary to DR (DME) or RVO (RVO-ME) at Xijing Hospital from August 2021 to July 2022. Meanwhile, aqueous humor samples during vitrectomy from patients with idiopathic macular hole (IMH) were also collected and served as controls. The aqueous humor concentrations of VEGF, platelet-derived factor (PDGF), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-18, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) were measured with Human Premixed Multi-Analyte Kit (Luminex). The difference of the aqueous cytokines and the correlation between the two diseases were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 40 eyes of 38 patients were enrolled in the study, including 13 eyes of 11 DME patients (DME group), 16 eyes of 16 RVO-ME patients (RVO-ME group) and 11 eyes of 11 IMH patients (control group). The VEGF, PDGF, IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 levels of the aqueous humor were higher in both DME and RVO-ME groups compared with the control group (all P<0.05), the levels of TNF-α was higher in the DME group than in the control group (P<0.05). The VEGF, IL-6, MCP-1, and TNF-α levels in the aqueous humor were significantly higher in the DR group than those in the RVO group (all P<0.05). Correlation analyses revealed that there were complex positive correlations between IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, MCP-1, and TNF-α levels in the aqueous humor of eyes with two diseases. CONCLUSION: Although ischemic and inflammatory factors are similarly involved in the pathogenesis of DME and RVO-ME, the roles of these factors are more significant or more likely to be activated in DR patients, suggesting different treatment strategies should be considered for the two diseases.

[Evaluation of quality-of-life and therapeutic effects of endoscopic sinus surgery in patients with chronic rhino-sinusitis using the SNOT-20 questionnaire].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the therapeutic effects of endoscopic sinus surgery on symptoms and quality of life of patients with chronic rhino-sinusitis (CRS). METHODS: A survey of symptoms and quality of life was conducted using Sino-nasal Outcome Test-20 (SNOT-20) questionnaire with 76 patients before and after endoscopic sinus surgery. The overall effect of endoscopic sinus surgery on CRS was subjectively self-evaluated by patient. RESULTS: After 6 months following-up, the total SNOT-20 score of patients was significantly decreased from the baseline (P<0.001). The most important 5-items were found to be "thick nasal discharge", "need to blow nose", "dizziness", "frontal pain", and "lack of a good sleep". Other items, related to sleep and emotion, were also significantly improved: the proportion of responses of "much improved", "improved" and "no-improved" were 56.3%, 33.3%, 10.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic sinus surgery demonstrated positive effects on symptoms and quality of life of CRS patients.

The correlation between human leucocyte antigen amino acid residue matching before keratoplasty and postoperative rejection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: At present, corneal transplantation has become the main surgical method for infectious keratitis. However, the rejection of corneal graft after operation leads to graft opacity, which is an important reason for the failure of transplantation. There is no unified conclusion whether the rejection can be reduced by matching human leucocyte antigen (HLA) before operation. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to explore the correlation between HLA locus matching and corneal transplantation rejection, so as to provide evidence-based medical evidence for clinical corneal transplantation in the treatment of infectious keratitis. METHODS: Search English databases, such as PubMed, Medline, Embase and Evidence-based Medicine Library by computer; Chinese databases, such as China Biomedical Literature Database, China Knowledge Network (CNKI) database, Wanfang database, Weipu database, and Google Academic database. According to Cochrane Handbook 5.0 risk assessment table, two researchers made random sequence random allocation method, blind method, allocation scheme hiding, integrity of data results and quality score of research results. The bias risk evaluation of Rev Man 5.3 software was used to evaluate the risk bias of the references. RESULTS: A total of 5 literatures were included, and 725 eyes underwent penetrating keratoplasty, all of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The quality of the included articles was medium to high quality. A meta-analysis of four HLA-A matching articles showed odds ratio (OR) =0.28, 95% confidential interval (CI): (0.15, 0.51), significance test Z=4.08, P<0.0001, and the difference was statistically significant. Meta-analysis was performed on four HLA-B matching articles and showed OR =0.50, 95% CI: (0.27, 0.89), significance test Z=2.33, P=0.02, and the difference was statistically significant. Meta-analysis of four HLA-DR matching articles showed OR =0.69, 95% CI: (0.41, 1.17), significance test Z=1.39, P=0.17, and the difference was not statistically significant. DISCUSSION: In patients with infectious keratitis undergoing corneal transplantation, preoperative matching of HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR sites played an important role in corneal transplantation. Preoperative HLA matching is of clinical significance.

Audiovisual Mandarin Lexical Tone Perception in Quiet and Noisy Contexts: The Influence of Visual Cues and Speech Rate.

PURPOSE: Armed with the theory of embodied cognition proposing tight interactions between perception, motor, and cognition, this study aimed to test the hypothesis that speech rate-altered Mandarin lexical tone perception in quiet and noisy environments could be affected by the bodily dynamic cross-modal information. METHOD: Fifty-three adult listeners completed a Mandarin tone perception task with 720 tone stimuli in auditory-only (AO), auditory-facial (AF), and auditory-facial-plus-gestural (AFG) modalities, at fast, normal, and slow speech rates under quiet and noisy conditions. In AF and AFG modalities, both congruent and incongruent audiovisual information were designed and presented. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were constructed to analyze the accuracy of tone perception across different conditions. RESULTS: In Mandarin tone perception, the magnitude of enhancement of AF and AFG cues across three speech rates was significantly higher than that of the AO cue in the adverse context of noise, yet additional metaphoric gestures did not show significant differences from the facial information. Furthermore, the performance of auditory tone perception at the fast speech rate was significantly better than that at the normal speech rate when the inputs were incongruent between auditory and visual channels in quiet. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided compelling evidence showing that integrated audiovisual information plays a vital role not only in improving lexical tone perception in noise but also in modulating the effects of speech rate on Mandarin tone perception in quiet for native listeners. Our findings, supporting the theory of embodied cognition, are implicational for speech and hearing rehabilitation among both young and old clinical populations.