Peripapillary atrophy area predicts the decrease of macular choroidal thickness in young adults during myopia progression.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the influence of peripapillary atrophy (PPA) area and axial elongation on the longitudinal changes in macular choroidal thickness (ChT) in young individuals with myopia. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this longitudinal investigation, 431 eyes-342 categorised as non-high myopia (non-HM) and 89 as HM-were examined for 2 years. Participants were examined with swept-source optical coherence tomography. The macular ChT, PPA area and axial length (AL) were measured at baseline and follow-up visits. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with ChT changes. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were analysed to ascertain the predictive capacity of the PPA area and axial elongation for the reduction in macular ChT. RESULTS: Initial measurements revealed that the average macular ChT was 240.35±56.15 µm in the non-HM group and 198.43±50.27 µm in the HM group (p<0.001). It was observed that the HM group experienced a significantly greater reduction in average macular ChT (-7.35±11.70 µm) than the non-HM group (-1.85±16.95 µm, p=0.004). Multivariate regression analysis showed that a greater reduction of ChT was associated with baseline PPA area (ß=-26.646, p<0.001) and the change in AL (ß=-35.230, p<0.001). The combination of the baseline PPA area with the change in AL was found to be effective in predicting the decrease in macular ChT, with an area under the curve of 0.741 (95% CI 0.694 to 0.787). CONCLUSION: Over 2 years, eyes with HM exhibit a more significant decrease in ChT than those without HM. Combining the baseline PPA area with the change in AL could be used to predict the decrease of macular ChT.

Service Quality and Residents' Preferences for Facilitated Self-Service Fundus Disease Screening: Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Fundus photography is the most important examination in eye disease screening. A facilitated self-service eye screening pattern based on the fully automatic fundus camera was developed in 2022 in Shanghai, China; it may help solve the problem of insufficient human resources in primary health care institutions. However, the service quality and residents' preference for this new pattern are unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the service quality and residents' preferences between facilitated self-service eye screening and traditional manual screening and to explore the relationships between the screening service's quality and residents' preferences. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Shanghai, China. Residents who underwent facilitated self-service fundus disease screening at one of the screening sites were assigned to the exposure group; those who were screened with a traditional fundus camera operated by an optometrist at an adjacent site comprised the control group. The primary outcome was the screening service quality, including effectiveness (image quality and screening efficiency), physiological discomfort, safety, convenience, and trustworthiness. The secondary outcome was the participants' preferences. Differences in service quality and the participants' preferences between the 2 groups were compared using chi-square tests separately. Subgroup analyses for exploring the relationships between the screening service's quality and residents' preference were conducted using generalized logit models. RESULTS: A total of 358 residents enrolled; among them, 176 (49.16%) were included in the exposure group and the remaining 182 (50.84%) in the control group. Residents' basic characteristics were balanced between the 2 groups. There was no significant difference in service quality between the 2 groups (image quality pass rate: P=.79; average screening time: P=.57; no physiological discomfort rate: P=.92; safety rate: P=.78; convenience rate: P=.95; trustworthiness rate: P=.20). However, the proportion of participants who were willing to use the same technology for their next screening was significantly lower in the exposure group than in the control group (P<.001). Subgroup analyses suggest that distrust in the facilitated self-service eye screening might increase the probability of refusal to undergo screening (P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that the facilitated self-service fundus disease screening pattern could achieve good service quality. However, it was difficult to reverse residents' preferences for manual screening in a short period, especially when the original manual service was already excellent. Therefore, the digital transformation of health care must be cautious. We suggest that attention be paid to the residents' individual needs. More efficient man-machine collaboration and personalized health management solutions based on large language models are both needed.

Multi-center study of COVID-19 infection in elderly patients with lymphoma: on behalf of Jiangsu Cooperative Lymphoma Group (JCLG).

Elderly patients with lymphoproliferative diseases (LPD) are vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Here, we retrospectively described the clinical features and outcomes of the first time infection of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 in 364 elderly patients with lymphoma enrolled in Jiangsu Cooperative Lymphoma Group (JCLG) between November 2022 and April 2023 in China. Median age was 69 years (range 60-92). 54.4% (198/364) of patients were confirmed as severe and critical COVID-19 infection. In univariable analysis, Age > 70 years (OR 1.88, p = 0.003), with multiple comorbidities (OR 1.41, p = 0.005), aggressive lymphoma (OR 2.33, p < 0.001), active disease (progressive or relapsed/refractory, OR 2.02, p < 0.001), and active anti-lymphoma therapy (OR 1.90, p < 0.001) were associated with severe COVID-19. Multiple (three or more) lines of previous anti-lymphoma therapy (OR 3.84, p = 0.021) remained an adverse factor for severe COVID-19 in multivariable analysis. Moreover, CD20 antibody (Rituximab or Obinutuzumab)-based treatments within the last 6 months was associated with severe COVID-19 in the entire cohort (OR 3.42, p < 0.001). Continuous BTK inhibitors might be protective effect on the outcome of COVID-19 infection (OR 0.44, p = 0.043) in the indolent lymphoma cohort. Overall, 7.7% (28/364) of the patients ceased, multiple lines of previous anti-lymphoma therapy (OR 3.46, p = 0.016) remained an adverse factor for mortality.

Genome-Wide Identification of the 14-3-3 Gene Family and Its Involvement in Salt Stress Response through Interaction with NsVP1 in Nitraria sibirica Pall.

14-3-3 proteins are widely distributed in eukaryotic cells and play an important role in plant growth, development, and stress tolerance. This study revealed nine 14-3-3 genes from the genome of Nitraria sibirica Pall., a halophyte with strong salt tolerance. The physicochemical properties, multiple sequence alignment, gene structure and motif analysis, and chromosomal distributions were analyzed, and phylogenetic analysis, cis-regulatory elements analysis, and gene transcription and expression analysis of Ns14-3-3s were conducted. The results revealed that the Ns14-3-3 gene family consists of nine members, which are divided into two groups: ε (four members) and non-ε (five members). These members are acidic hydrophilic proteins. The genes are distributed randomly on chromosomes, and the number of introns varies widely among the two groups. However, all genes have similar conserved domains and three-dimensional protein structures. The main differences are found at the N-terminus and C-terminus. The promoter region of Ns14-3-3s contains multiple cis-acting elements related to light, plant hormones, and abiotic stress responses. Transcriptional profiling and gene expression pattern analysis revealed that Ns14-3-3s were expressed in all tissues, although with varying patterns. Under salt stress conditions, Ns14-3-3 1a, Ns14-3-3 1b, Ns14-3-3 5a, and Ns14-3-3 7a showed significant changes in gene expression. Ns14-3-3 1a expression decreased in all tissues, Ns14-3-3 7a expression decreased by 60% to 71% in roots, and Ns14-3-3 1b expression increased by 209% to 251% in stems. The most significant change was observed in Ns14-3-3 5a, with its expression in stems increasing by 213% to 681%. The yeast two-hybrid experiments demonstrated that Ns14-3-3 5a interacts with NsVP1 (vacuolar H+-pyrophosphatase). This result indicates that Ns14-3-3 5a may respond to salt stress by promoting ionic vacuole compartmentalization in stems and leaves through interactions with NsVP1. In addition, N. sibirica has a high number of stems, allowing it to compartmentalize more ions through its stem and leaf. This may be a contributing factor to its superior salt tolerance compared to other plants.

Transition from Schottky to Ohmic contacts in 2D Ge/GaAs heterostructures with high tunneling probability.

The metal-semiconductor (M-S) contact is usually an Ohmic contact or a Schottky contact, which greatly affects the electronic properties of devices, and it remains a huge challenge to realize a low-resistance Ohmic contact in a metal-semiconductor junction (MSJ). Herein, we systematically studied the band structures, electrostatic potential, charge transfer, Schottky barrier height of carriers, effective carrier masses, and tunneling probability of carriers of a germanene (Ge)/GaAs MSJ. The transition from the Schottky to the Ohmic contact can be caused by applying certain biaxial strains or electric fields, which weakens the Fermi level pinning (FLP) effect and reduces contact resistance. Meanwhile, the electron injection efficiency of Ge/(GaAs)As MSJ (PTB > 27%) is far superior to that of other two-dimensional (2D) vdW MSJs. This work indicates that Ge/GaAs heterostructures are the most compatible for applying high-effective 2D electronic nanodevices under controllable conditions.

Hierarchical architecture of ZIF-8@ZIF-67-Derived N-doped carbon nanotube hollow polyhedron supported on 2D Ti3C2Tx nanosheets targeting enhanced lithium-ion capacitors.

The matching of long cycle life, high power density, and high energy density has been an inevitable requirement for the development of efficient anode materials for lithium-ion capacitors (LICs). Here, we introduce an N-doped carbon nanotube hollow polyhedron structure (Co3O4-CNT-800) with high specific surface area and active sites, which is anchored with two-dimensional (2D) Ti3C2Tx nanosheets with metallic conductivity and abundant surface functional groups by electrostatic adsorption to form a hierarchical multilevel hollow semi-covered framework structure. Benefiting from the synergistic effect between Co3O4-CNT-800 and Ti3C2Tx, the composites exhibit superior energy storage efficiency and long cycling stability. The Co3O4-CNT-800/Ti3C2Tx electrodes exhibit a high specific capacity of 817C/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g under the three-electrode system, and the capacity retention rate is 91 % after 5000 cycles at a current density of 2 A/g. Additionally, we assembled Co3O4-CNT-800/Ti3C2Tx as the anode and Activated carbon (AC) cathode to form LIC devices, which showed an electrochemical test result of 90.01 % capacitance retention after 8000 cycles at 2 A/g, and the maximum power density of the LIC was 3000 W/kg and the maximum energy density was 121 Wh/kg. This work pioneered the combination of N-doped carbon nanotube hollow polyhedron structure with two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx, which provides an effective strategy for preparing LIC negative electrode materials with high specific capacitance and long cycling stability.

Selective breeding of cold-tolerant black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae: Gut microbial shifts and transcriptional patterns.

The larvae of black soldier fly (BSFL) convert organic waste into insect proteins used as feedstuff for livestock and aquaculture. BSFL production performance is considerably reduced during winter season. Herein, the intraspecific diversity of ten commercial BSF colonies collected in China was evaluated. The Bioforte colony was subjected to selective breeding at 12 °C and 16 °C to develop cold-tolerant BSF with improved production performance. After breeding for nine generations, the weight of larvae, survival rate, and the dry matter conversion rate significantly increased. Subsequently, intestinal microbiota in the cold-tolerant strain showed that bacteria belonging to Morganella, Dysgonomonas, Salmonella, Pseudochrobactrum, and Klebsiella genera were highly represented in the 12 °C bred, while those of Acinetobacter, Pseudochrobactrum, Enterococcus, Comamonas, and Leucobacter genera were significantly represented in the 16 °C bred group. Metagenomic revealed that several animal probiotics of the Enterococcus and Vagococcus genera were greatly enriched in the gut of larvae bred at 16 °C. Moreover, bacterial metabolic pathways including carbohydrate, lipid, amino acids, and cofactors and vitamins, were significantly increased, while organismal systems and human diseases was decreased in the 16 °C bred group. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the upregulated differentially expressed genes in the 16 °C bred groups mainly participated in Autophagy-animal, AMPK signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway at day 34 under 16 °C conditions, suggesting their significant role in the survival of BSFL. Taken together, these results shed lights on the role of intestinal microflora and gene pathways in the adaptation of BSF larvae to cold stress.

Task-state skin potential abnormalities can distinguish major depressive disorder and bipolar depression from healthy controls.

Early detection of bipolar depression (BPD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) has been challenging due to the lack of reliable and easily measurable biological markers. This study aimed to investigate the accuracy of discriminating patients with mood disorders from healthy controls based on task state skin potential characteristics and their correlation with individual indicators of oxidative stress. A total of 77 patients with BPD, 53 patients with MDD, and 79 healthy controls were recruited. A custom-made device, previously shown to be sufficiently accurate, was used to collect skin potential data during six emotion-inducing tasks involving video, pictorial, or textual stimuli. Blood indicators reflecting individual levels of oxidative stress were collected. A discriminant model based on the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm was constructed for discriminant analysis. MDD and BPD patients were found to have abnormal skin potential characteristics on most tasks. The accuracy of the SVM model built with SP features to discriminate MDD patients from healthy controls was 78% (sensitivity 78%, specificity 82%). The SVM model gave an accuracy of 59% (sensitivity 59%, specificity 79%) in classifying BPD patients, MDD patients, and healthy controls into three groups. Significant correlations were also found between oxidative stress indicators in the blood of patients and certain SP features. Patients with depression and bipolar depression have abnormalities in task-state skin potential that partially reflect the pathological mechanism of the illness, and the abnormalities are potential biological markers of affective disorders.

Detection of circulating plasma cells in peripheral blood using deep learning-based morphological analysis.

BACKGROUND: The presence of circulating plasma cells (CPCs) is an important laboratory indicator for the diagnosis, staging, risk stratification, and progression monitoring of multiple myeloma (MM). Early detection of CPCs in the peripheral blood (PB) followed by timely interventions can significantly improve MM prognosis and delay its progression. Although the conventional cell morphology examination remains the predominant method for CPC detection because of accessibility, its sensitivity and reproducibility are limited by technician expertise and cell quantity constraints. This study aims to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based automated system for a more sensitive and efficient CPC morphology detection. METHODS: A total of 137 bone marrow smears and 72 PB smears from patients with at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, were retrospectively reviewed. Using an AI-powered digital pathology platform, Morphogo, 305,019 cell images were collected for training. Morphogo's efficacy in CPC detection was evaluated with additional 184 PB smears (94 from patients with MM and 90 from those with other hematological malignancies) and compared with manual microscopy. RESULTS: Morphogo achieved 99.64% accuracy, 89.03% sensitivity, and 99.68% specificity in classifying CPCs. At a 0.60 threshold, Morphogo achieved a sensitivity of 96.15%, which was approximately twice that of manual microscopy, with a specificity of 78.03%. Patients with CPCs detected by AI scanning had a significantly shorter median progression-free survival compared with those without CPC detection (18 months vs. 34 months, p< .01). CONCLUSIONS: Morphogo is a highly sensitive system for the automated detection of CPCs, with potential applications in initial screening, prognosis prediction, and posttreatment monitoring for MM patients. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Diagnosing and monitoring multiple myeloma (MM), a type of blood cancer, requires identifying and quantifying specific cells called circulating plasma cells (CPCs) in the blood. The conventional method for detecting CPCs is manual microscopic examination, which is time-consuming and lacks sensitivity. This study introduces a highly sensitive CPC detection method using an artificial intelligence-based system, Morphogo. It demonstrated remarkable sensitivity and accuracy, surpassing conventional microscopy. This advanced approach suggests that early and accurate CPC detection is achievable by morphology examination, making efficient CPC screening more accessible for patients with MM. This innovative system has the potential to be used in the diagnosis and risk assessment of MM.

The clinical significance and prognostic value of serum beta-2 microglobulin in adult lymphoma-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: a multicenter analysis of 326 patients.

To investigate the prognostic impact of serum beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) in adult lymphoma-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). The clinical and laboratory characteristics of 326 adult patients in a multicenter cohort with lymphoma-associated HLH with available baseline serum B2M levels were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 326 cases were included in this study, and the median serum B2M level was 5.19 mg/L. The optimal cut-off of serum B2M was 8.73 mg/L, and the cases with serum B2M level >8.73 mg/L were older and had a more advanced stage, lower levels of platelets, albumin, and fibrinogen, and higher creatinine level. The serum B2M >8.73 mg/L, creatinine ≥133 µmol/L, fibrinogen ≤1.5 g/L, agranulocytosis (<0.5 × 109/L), severe thrombocytopenia (<50 × 109/L), and high Epstein-Barr virus DNA copy number were found to have independent prognostic values in all patients, and the serum B2M >8.73 mg/L was also an independent prognostic factor in patients with creatinine <133 µmol/L. Finally, a prognostic scoring system was established based on independent prognostic factors of all patients and categorized the patients into three groups with significant prognostic differences. This study confirmed that the serum B2M level can be an independent prognostic factor in lymphoma-associated HLH and established a prognostic scoring system to predict patients' survival.

Cutoff values of axial length/corneal radius ratio for determining myopia vary with age among 3-18 years old children and adolescents.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effectiveness and cutoffs of axial length/corneal radius (AL/CR) ratio for myopia detection in children by age. METHODS: Totally, 21 kindergartens and schools were enrolled. Non-cycloplegic autorefraction (NCAR), axial length (AL), horizontal and vertical meridian of corneal radius (CR1, CR2), and cycloplegic autorefraction were measured. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to obtain the effectiveness and cutoff for myopia detection. RESULTS: Finally, 7803 participants aged 3-18 years with mean AL/CR ratio of 2.99 ± 0.16 were included. Area under the ROC curve (AUC) of AL/CR ratio for myopia detection (0.958 for AL/CR1, 0.956 for AL/CR2, 0.961 for AL/CR) was significantly larger than that of AL (0.919, all P < 0.001), while AUCs of the three were similar with different cutoffs (> 2.98, > 3.05, and > 3.02). When divided by age, the ROC curves of AL/CR ratio in 3- to 5-year-olds showed no significance or low accuracy (AUCs ≤ 0.823) in both genders. In ≥ 6-year-olds, the accuracies were promising (AUCs ≥ 0.883, all P < 0.001), the cutoffs basically increased with age (from > 2.93 in 6-year-olds to > 3.07 in 18-year-olds among girls, and from > 2.96 in 6-year-olds to > 3.07 in 18-year-olds among boys). In addition, boys presented slightly larger cutoffs than girls in all ages except for 16 and 18 years old. For children aged 3-5 years, AL/CR ratio or AL combined with NCAR increased AUC to > 0.900. CONCLUSION: AL/CR ratio provided the best prediction of myopia with age-dependent cutoff values for all but preschool children, and the cutoffs of boys were slightly larger than those of girls. For preschool children, AL/CR ratio or AL combined with NCAR is recommended to achieve satisfactory accuracy. AL/CR ratio calculated by two meridians showed similar predictive power but with different cutoffs.

Sympathetic nervous system activity is associated with choroidal thickness and axial length in school-aged children.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aim to explore the effect of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) on choroid thickness (ChT) and axial length (AL). METHODS: Students of grade 2 and 3 from a primary school were included and followed for 1 year. Visual acuity, refraction, AL and ChT were measured. Morning urine samples were collected for determining SNS activity by analysing concentrations of epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine using the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The most important factor (factor 1) was calculated using factor analysis to comprehensively indicate the SNS activity. RESULTS: A total of 273 students were included, with an average age of 7.77±0.69 years, and 150 (54.95%) were boys. Every 1 µg/L increase in epinephrine is associated with 1.60 µm (95% CI 0.30 to 2.90, p=0.02) decrease in average ChT. Every 1 µg/L increase in norepinephrine is associated with 0.53 µm (95% CI 0.08 to 0.98, p=0.02) decrease in the ChT in inner-superior region. The factor 1 was negatively correlated with the ChT in the superior regions. Every 1 µg/L increase in norepinephrine was associated with 0.002 mm (95% CI 0.0004 to 0.004, p=0.016) quicker AL elongation. The factor 1 was positively correlated with AL elongation (coefficient=0.037, 95% CI 0.005 to 0.070, p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: We hypothesised that chronic stress characterised by elevated level of the SNS, was associated with significant increase in AL elongation, probably through thinning of the choroid.

Efficacy and safety of camrelizumab combined with albumin-bound paclitaxel as third- or later-line regimen in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The clinical efficacy and safety of camrelizumab as a third- or later-line regimen in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not been determined in large clinical trials. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of camrelizumab in combination with albumin-bound paclitaxel as a third- or later-line treatment for patients with advanced NSCLC. Methods: A total of 257 patients with advanced NSCLC who were histopathologically confirmed and failed in clinical second-line therapy regimens at Jiangxi Province Cancer hospital from January 2018 to December 2021 were retrospectively selected. Patients with advanced NSCLC were divided into the single treatment group (STG) of camrelizumab, and the combined treatment group (CTG) of camrelizumab in combination with albumin-bound paclitaxel according to the treatment regimen. The primary outcomes of interest were clinical efficacy[objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR)], progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Survival data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was performed. Additionally, Cox proportional hazard regression was used to analyze the correlation of prognosis and baseline characteristics between subgroups, to identify the potential independent risk factors for PFS and OS. Furthermore, the occurrence of side effects was assessed according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE 4.03). Results: Of the 257 patients with advanced NSCLC included in the research, 135 patients received camrelizumab, and 122 patients received camrelizumab plus albumin-bound paclitaxel. The ORR of CTG and STG was 59.84% and 50.38%, and the DCR was 77.05% and 65.93%, respectively. The median PFS in CTG was higher than that in the STG (5.27 vs. 3.57 months, P = 0.0074), and the median OS was longer (7.09 vs. 6.47 months, P < 0.01). The lines of treatment, metastases, and PD-L1 expression levels were independent risk factors for the mPFS and mOS of patients with advanced NSCLC. The occurrence of adverse events was similar between camrelizumab and camrelizumab plus albumin-bound paclitaxel groups. Conclusion: Camrelizumab combined with albumin-bound paclitaxel as the third- or later-line regimen greatly prolonged PFS and OS of advanced NSCLC patients. A prospective clinical trial is warranted.

Single-cell transcriptomic atlas throughout anti-BCMA CAR-T therapy in patients with multiple myeloma.

Introduction: The emergence of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapy targeting B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) has improved the prognosis of patients with multiple myeloma (MM); however, the majority of patients eventually experience relapse. Methods: In this study, employing the latest single-cell RNA sequencing technology, we examined 24 bone marrow or peripheral blood samples collected throughout the course of anti-BCMA CAR-T therapy, analyzing a total of 59,725 bone marrow cells and 72,479 peripheral blood cells. Results: Our findings reveal that tumor cells in relapsed patient exhibit higher expression levels of HSP90B1 and HSPA5, and demonstrate significantly enriched pathways regarding endoplasmic reticulum stress and unfolded protein response. In the analysis of T cells, we observed that patient with impaired effector function and increased expression of immune checkpoints in endogenous T cell are more susceptible to relapse. Notably, T cells from both the bone marrow microenvironment and peripheral blood share highly similar biological characteristics. Discussion: Overall, this study provides a comprehensive atlas of endogenous immune cells, particularly in the relatively long term, after CAR-T therapy. It offers clinical evidence for a deeper understanding of the internal environment post CAR-T treatment and for identifying mechanisms underlying relapse.

Association of macular outward scleral height with axial length, macular choroidal thickness and morphologic characteristics of the optic disc in Chinese adults.

PURPOSE: To identify the relationship of macular outward scleral height (MOSH) with axial length (AL), macular choroidal thickness (ChT), peripapillary atrophy (PPA), and optic disc tilt in Chinese adults. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 1088 right eyes of 1088 participants were enrolled and assigned into high myopia (HM) and non-HM groups. MOSH was measured in the nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior directions using swept-source optical coherence tomography images. The clinical characteristics of MOSH and the association of MOSH with AL, macular ChT, PPA, and tilt ratio were analysed. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 37.31 ± 18.93 years (range, 18-86 years), and the mean AL was 25.78 ± 1.79 mm (range, 21.25-33.09 mm). MOSH was the highest in the temporal direction, followed by the superior, nasal, and inferior directions (all p < 0.001). The MOSH of HM eyes was significantly higher than that of non-HM eyes, and it was positively correlated with AL in the nasal, temporal, and superior directions (all p < 0.001). Macular ChT was independently associated with the average MOSH (B = -0.190, p < 0.001). Nasal MOSH was positively associated with the PPA area and the presence of a tilted optic disc (both p < 0.01). Eyes with a higher MOSH in the superior (odds ratio [OR] = 1.008; p < 0.001) and inferior directions (OR = 1.006; p = 0.009) were more likely to have posterior staphyloma. CONCLUSION: MOSH is an early indicator of scleral deformation, and it is correlated positively with AL and negatively with ChT. A higher nasal MOSH is associated with a larger PPA area and the presence of a tilted optic disc. Higher MOSH values in the superior and inferior directions were risk factors for posterior staphyloma. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov (Reg. No. NCT03446300).

Development and validation of a survival nomogram in patients with primary testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE: We developed and validated a nomogram for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) prediction in patients with primary testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PT-DLBCL). METHODS: Patients diagnosed with PT-DLBCL were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Independent prognostic factors were analyzed to establish a nomogram of OS and CSS. Patients were reclassified into high- and low-risk groups; survival was compared using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. RESULTS: We collected 1099 PT-DLBCL cases (2000-2019) from SEER and randomized into training (n = 771) and validation (n = 328) cohorts. In univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, five prognostic indicators (age, treatment modality, diagnosis year, Ann Arbor stage, laterality) were used to establish a nomogram of OS and CSS. The nomogram demonstrated excellent discrimination and calibration, with concordance indices in the training and validation cohorts of 0.702 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.677-0.727) and 0.705 (95% CI 0.67-0.74) for OS and 0.694 (95% CI 0.663-0.725) and 0.680 (95% CI 0.63-0.72) for CSS. The calibration curve and ROC analysis indicated good predictive capability of the nomogram. CONCLUSIONS: The constructed prognostic model showed good predictive value for PT-DLBCL to assist clinicians in developing individualized treatment strategies.

Normative value of hyperopia reserve and myopic shift in Chinese children and adolescents aged 3-16 years.

BACKGROUND: This research aims to generate normative values of hyperopia reserve and refractive progression as effective tools to estimate the risk of myopia. METHODS: A 1-year follow-up study was conducted among Chinese children and adolescents aged 3-16 years selected from schools and kinder gardens using cluster sampling. All participants underwent examinations including visual acuity, axial length and cycloplegic autorefraction (1% cyclopentolate). Percentiles of spherical equivalent (SE) were calculated using Lambda-Mu-Sigma (LMS) method. Age-specific refractive progression and hyperopia reserve were determined by backward calculation. RESULTS: Of 3118 participants, 1702 (54.6%) were boys with a mean baseline age of 7.30 years. The 50th percentile of SE estimated by LMS decreased from 1.04 D at 3 years to -2.04 D at 16 years in boys, while from 1.29 D to -2.81 D in girls. The 1-year refractive progression of myopes (0.81 D) was greater than that of non-myopes (0.51 D). The normative value of hyperopia reserve was 2.64 (range: 2.40 D-2.88 D) at 3 years and -0.35 (range: -0.50 to -0.17) D at 16 years, with the maximum progression of 0.35 D at the age of 6 years. CONCLUSION: Age-specific normative values of hyperopia reserve and yearly myopic shift in children and adolescents aged 3-16 years were provided, helping identify and monitor myopia and giving prevention in advance.

Investigating COVID-19's Impact on Mental Health: Trend and Thematic Analysis of Reddit Users' Discourse.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in heightened levels of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues due to sudden changes in daily life, such as economic stress, social isolation, and educational irregularity. Accurately assessing emotional and behavioral changes in response to the pandemic can be challenging, but it is essential to understand the evolving emotions, themes, and discussions surrounding the impact of COVID-19 on mental health. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to understand the evolving emotions and themes associated with the impact of COVID-19 on mental health support groups (eg, r/Depression and r/Anxiety) on Reddit (Reddit Inc) during the initial phase and after the peak of the pandemic using natural language processing techniques and statistical methods. METHODS: This study used data from the r/Depression and r/Anxiety Reddit communities, which consisted of posts contributed by 351,409 distinct users over a period spanning from 2019 to 2022. Topic modeling and Word2Vec embedding models were used to identify key terms associated with the targeted themes within the data set. A range of trend and thematic analysis techniques, including time-to-event analysis, heat map analysis, factor analysis, regression analysis, and k-means clustering analysis, were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The time-to-event analysis revealed that the first 28 days following a major event could be considered a critical window for mental health concerns to become more prominent. The theme trend analysis revealed key themes such as economic stress, social stress, suicide, and substance use, with varying trends and impacts in each community. The factor analysis highlighted pandemic-related stress, economic concerns, and social factors as primary themes during the analyzed period. Regression analysis showed that economic stress consistently demonstrated the strongest association with the suicide theme, whereas the substance theme had a notable association in both data sets. Finally, the k-means clustering analysis showed that in r/Depression, the number of posts related to the "depression, anxiety, and medication" cluster decreased after 2020, whereas the "social relationships and friendship" cluster showed a steady decrease. In r/Anxiety, the "general anxiety and feelings of unease" cluster peaked in April 2020 and remained high, whereas the "physical symptoms of anxiety" cluster showed a slight increase. CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and the related themes discussed in 2 web-based communities during the pandemic. The results offer valuable insights for developing targeted interventions and policies to support individuals and communities in similar crises.

A new approach of using organ-on-a-chip and fluid-structure interaction modeling to investigate biomechanical characteristics in tissue-engineered blood vessels.

The tissue-engineered blood vessel (TEBV) has been developed and used in cardiovascular disease modeling, preclinical drug screening, and for replacement of native diseased arteries. Increasing attention has been paid to biomechanical cues in TEBV and other tissue-engineered organs to better recapitulate the functional properties of the native organs. Currently, computational fluid dynamics models were employed to reveal the hydrodynamics in TEBV-on-a-chip. However, the biomechanical wall stress/strain conditions in the TEBV wall have never been investigated. In this paper, a straight cylindrical TEBV was placed into a polydimethylsiloxane-made microfluidic device to construct the TEBV-on-a-chip. The chip was then perfused with cell culture media flow driven by a peristaltic pump. A three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model was generated to simulate the biomechanical conditions in TEBV and mimic both the dynamic TEBV movement and pulsatile fluid flow. The material stiffness of the TEBV wall was determined by uniaxial tensile testing, while the viscosity of cell culture media was measured using a rheometer. Comparison analysis between the perfusion experiment and FSI model results showed that the average relative error in diameter expansion of TEBV from both approaches was 10.0% in one period. For fluid flow, the average flow velocity over a period was 2.52 cm/s from the FSI model, 10.5% higher than the average velocity of the observed cell clusters (2.28 mm/s) in the experiment. These results demonstrated the facility to apply the FSI modeling approach in TEBV to obtain more comprehensive biomechanical results for investigating mechanical mechanisms of cardiovascular disease development.