Search

AIM: To compare the differences of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) measurements between swept-source and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA and SD-OCTA) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and the imaging reliability of the two devices. METHODS: Prospective comparative study. SS-OCTA and SD-OCTA were used to scan the same eye with the modes of 3×3 and 6×6 mm2 centered on the neovascularization. Only qualified images were chosen and the border of CNV was manually delineated by two graders independently. The area of CNV (ACNV), vascular perfusion density (PD), and vessel length density (VLD) within the delineation were calculated using Image J. The differences of CNV measurements between the two OCTA devices were compared using Bland-Altman analysis. The agreement between the two graders on the measurements of each device was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: A total of 18 patients (22 eyes) with nAMD were included. The measurements of ACNV, PD, and VLD were 7.247±4.586 and 4.901±3.741 mm2, 43.202±9.636 and 34.904±10.489, 6.339±1.228 and 5.908±1.741 mm-1 for SS-OCTA and SD-OCTA, respectively. The differences between the two devices were 2.346±3.030 mm2 (Z= -3.782, P

Diabetic retinopathy(DR)is the most common microvascular complication of patients with diabetes mellitus, and it has become one of the leading causes of visual impairment among working-age people worldwide. The pathogenesis of DR is complicated with multiple mechanisms. Plenty of studies have indicated that circadian rhythm and clock genes are closely related to the pathogenesis of DR. Circadian rhythm is a physiological process regulated by clock genes, which takes 24h as a cycle and is consistent with the changes of light and dark outside. Circadian rhythm regulates various physiological activities of the body. The disturbance of circadian rhythm induces DR by affecting the blood glucose level and the physiological homeostasis of the eye in patients with diabetes mellitus, and clock genes may be involved in the pathogenesis of DR by regulating oxidative stress response, inflammatory response, retinal autophagy rhythm, mitochondrial dysfunction and endothelial progenitor cell function. This paper will introduce the generation and regulation mechanism of circadian rhythm, as well as the internal circadian rhythm of retina, and further discuss the influence of circadian rhythm and clock genes on the occurrence and development of DR, aiming to provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of DR.

AIM: To investigate the effectiveness of a modified inferior oblique muscle belly transposition for treatment of V-pattern exotropia combined with mild to moderate inferior oblique muscle overaction. METHODS: Thirteen cases (23 affected eyes) of V-pattern exotropia with inferior oblique muscle overaction (+ or ++) who underwent the modified inferior oblique muscle belly transposition procedure were retrospectively reviewed. The amount of V-pattern, grade of inferior oblique overaction, degree of vertical strabismus, abnormal head posture, and the fovea-disc angle were evaluated before and after surgery. RESULTS: The V-pattern was corrected in all cases, and the amount of V-pattern reduced by 17.85±5.13 prism diopter (PD) on average (t=16.07, P

Text event mining, as an indispensable method of text mining processing, has attracted the extensive attention of researchers. A modeling method for knowledge graph of events based on mutual information among neighbor domains and sparse representation is proposed in this paper, i.e. UKGE-MS. Specifically, UKGE-MS can improve the existing text mining technology's ability of understanding and discovering high-dimensional unmarked information, and solves the problems of traditional unsupervised feature selection methods, which only focus on selecting features from a global perspective and ignoring the impact of local connection of samples. Firstly, considering the influence of local information of samples in feature correlation evaluation, a feature clustering algorithm based on average neighborhood mutual information is proposed, and the feature clusters with certain event correlation are obtained; Secondly, an unsupervised feature selection method based on the high-order correlation of multi-dimensional statistical data is designed by combining the dimension reduction advantage of local linear embedding algorithm and the feature selection ability of sparse representation, so as to enhance the generalization ability of the selected feature items. Finally, the events knowledge graph is constructed by means of sparse representation and l1 norm. Extensive experiments are carried out on five real datasets and synthetic datasets, and the UKGE-MS are compared with five corresponding algorithms. The experimental results show that UKGE-MS is better than the traditional method in event clustering and feature selection, and has some advantages over other methods in text event recognition and discovery.

AIM:To identify the reasons for not improving visual acuity of patients with diabetic macular edema(DME)and its correlation with optical coherent tomography(OCT)imaging characteristics. They were treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)again after an interruption of treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS: Retrospective cases study. A total of 31 patients(40 eyes)with DME and treated with anti-VEGF drugs in the Department of Ophthalmology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University between December 2019 and July 2020 were selected. All patients had an treatment history of interruption due to COVID-19. Based on the behavioral standard of best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)at 1mo after re-treatment, they were divided into improved visual acuity group(14 eyes)and non-improved visual acuity group(26 eyes). All patients received comprehensive ophthalmic examinations, including BCVA, intraocular pressure, OCT, fundus photography, and fundus fluorescein angiography(FFA). The central retinal thickness(CRT), hyper-reflective retinal dots(HRD), subretinal fluid(SRF), intraretinal fluid(IRF), disorganization of the inner retinal layers(DRIL)and ellipsoid zone disruption(EZD)were quantified by Image J. The correlation between BCVA and CRT, the number of HRD, the diameter of SRF and IRF, and the height of DRIL and EDZ width at 1mo after treatment were analyzed by Spearman correlation.RESULTS: The proportion of HRD in OCT was significantly higher in the non-improved visual acuity group than that in the improved visual acuity group(χ2=5.43, P=0.0072); There was a positive correlation between the difference of BCVA(LogMAR)and CRT change in DME patients after treatment(rs=0.406, P=0.009); There was a positive correlation between BCVA(LogMAR)and EZD width after treatment(rs=0.358, P=0.023). There was no correlation between BCVA(LogMAR)after treatment and the number of CRT(rs=-0.086,P=0.600)and HRD(rs=-0.115,P=0.482), the diameter and height of SRF(rs=0.102,P=0.530; rs=0.100,P=0.538)and IRF(rs=0.134,P=0.410; rs=-0.014,P=0.932), and the width of DRIL(rs=0.089,P=0.587).CONCLUSION:The probability of retinal HRD was significantly higher in patients with no visual improvement than that in patients with visual improvement after the re-treatment with anti-VEGF due to the treatment interruption during COVID-19. EZD width was also closely correlated to the prognosis of visual acuity. As for these patients, HRD manifestations in OCT should be comprehensively considered, taking intravitreal injection of glucocorticoid as an auxiliary strategy if necessary.

AIM: To compare the efficacy and safety of intravitreal aflibercept with dexamethasone implant in the treatment of macular edema (ME) associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) or retinal vein occlusion (RVO). METHODS: A comprehensive search of studies comparing dexamethasone and aflibercept in patients with ME was conducted at PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from the beginning of library to April 16, 2021. Extracting the data including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), number of injections and serious adverse events (SAEs) from the final qualified articles. RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis of the included studies. RESULTS: Totally 7 studies with 369 eyes were included. The causes of ME in the final screening study included RVO and DR. Compared with the aflibercept treatment group, the BCVA of the dexamethasone implant treatment group showed no significant difference in the follow-up for 3mo [mean difference (MD): -0.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.11, 0.02; P=0.17] and 12mo (MD: -0.01, 95%CI: -0.38, 0.37; P=0.98), but it was slightly worse than the aflibercept group at 6mo (MD: 0.12, 95%CI: 0.03, 0.21; P=0.008). In terms of CRT reduction, there was no significant difference between the two groups at 3mo (MD: -28.14, 95%CI: -79.95, 23.67; P=0.29), 6mo (MD: 27.67, 95%CI: -84.89, 140.24; P=0.63), and 12mo (MD: -59.00, 95%CI: -127.37,9.37; P=0.09). However, dexamethasone implant had fewer injections, but more adverse events such as elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) and cataract. CONCLUSION: Intravitreal injection of aflibercept and dexamethasone implant can both effectively increase BCVA and reduce CRT. Compared with aflibercept, dexamethasone implant is not inferior in improving vision and reducing CRT in the initial treatment period (3mo) and long-term treatment period (12mo). Besides, it has fewer injections and more likely to cause elevated IOP and cataract.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of modified folding intraocular lens(IOL)suspension surgery in treatment of traumatic dislocation of lens surgery technique.METHODS: Prospective randomized controlled study. A total of 15 patients underwent the modified folding IOL suspension surgery. Among them, 9 patients chose Akreos AO IOL, and polypropylene sutures were used to thread the haptics of IOL. After guided to puncture out through the sclera, the ends of sutures were thermal expanded and fixed in the sclera. And 6 patients chose Tecnis ZA9003 IOL and no sutures were used. After guided the haptics to puncture out through the sclera, the ends of haptics were thermal expanded and fixed in the sclera. The best corrected visual acuity(BCVA, LogMAR)of all patients and postoperative complication were observed. RESULTS: This study included 15 patients, among them, 7 were male and 8 were female, the mean age was 64.00±9.85 years old, the mean course of diseases was 5.80±3.17 wk. There were no significant differences between the demographic and baseline clinical characteristics. After underwent the modified folding IOL suspension surgery, visual acuity of all patients were obviously improved. After 3mo of the surgery, the BCVA(LogMAR)of patients were improved from 1.28±0.56 to 0.52±0.30. More specifically, the BCVA(LogMAR)of patients who chose Akreos AO IOL were improved from 1.39±0.62 to 0.59±0.25, and those who chose Tecnis ZA9003 IOL of the BCVA(LogMAR)were improved from 1.12±0.45 to 0.42±0.35. Furthermore, there was no severe postoperative complication observed in our study. Only one patient suffered IOL dislocation and the IOL optical surface was mild oblique.CONCLUSION: Modified folding IOL suspension surgery technique resulted in good visual and outcomes with no severe complication, making it an effective option for IOL suspension surgery.

AIM: To quantitatively detect aqueous levels of angiopoietin-like (ANGPTL)3, ANGPTL4, and ANGPTL6 and investigate their correlation with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) findings in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 23 patients (27 eyes) with type 2 diabetes and 16 control subjects (20 eyes). All patients underwent OCTA imaging and ultra-wide field fundus photography. Diabetic patients were categorized into two groups according to the presence or absence of diabetic retinopathy (DME group, 14 patients, 16 eyes); and non-diabetic retinopathy (NDR) group, 9 patients, 11 eyes, respectively. Aqueous levels of ANGPTL3, ANGPTL4, and ANGPTL6 were assessed using suspension array technology, and foveal-centered 3×3 mm2 OCTA scans were automatically graded to determine the central, inner, and full vessel density (CVD, IVD, FVD); central, inner, and full perfusion density (CPD, IPD, FPD), foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, FAZ perimeter, and FAZ circularity index (FAZ-CI) on superficial capillary plexuses. Additionally, central subfield thickness (CST), cube volume (CV), and cube average thickness (CAT) were measured in a model of macular cube 512×128. RESULTS: Aqueous ANGPTL3 levels were not significantly different among the three groups (P>0.05). ANGPTL4 levels were significantly higher in the DME group than the control and NDR groups (P

The important supporting component in a gas turbine is the casing, which has the characteristics of large size, complex structure, and thin wall. In the context of existing 3DP sand casting processes, casting crack defects are prone to occur. This leads to an increase in the scrap rate of casings, causing significant resource wastage. Additionally, the presence of cracks poses a significant safety hazard after the casings are put into service. The generation of different types of crack defects in stainless steel casings is closely related to casting stress and the high-temperature concession of the sand mold. Therefore, the types and causes of cracks in stainless steel casing products, based on their structural characteristics, were systematically analyzed. Various sand molds with different internal topology designs were printed using the 3DP technology to investigate the impact of sand mold structures on high-temperature concession. The optimal sand mold structure was used to cast casings, and the crack suppression effect was verified by analyzing its eddy current testing results. The experimental results indicate that the skeleton structure has an excellent effect on suppressing cracks in the casing. This research holds important theoretical and engineering significance in improving the quality of casing castings and reducing production costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: To analyze whether wet-lab training (WLT) or surgical-simulator training (SST) is better for ophthalmology residents to master the chopping technique. METHODS: Sixty ophthalmology residents (in their second year) and three cataract surgeons participated in the study. The residents were randomly separated into two groups, WLT group and SST group. The residents in WLT group were asked to perform 10 trials of chopping using pig eyes and scored by the surgeons, and then they performed and scored using simulator for one time. The residents in SST group underwent 10 trials of chopping using simulator, and the simulator scored each trail. Then, this group were asked to perform the chopping using pig eyes and scored by the surgeons. At last, we investigated the residents' satisfaction about the training. RESULTS: The demographic characteristics had no significant differences between the two groups. Recorded by the simulator, the residents in SST group got significantly higher overall score (83.90±1.31) than WLT group (78.73±1.92, P=0.03). And the residents in SST group got less corner area injured, and they spend less time than WLT group (P

AIM: To compare the therapeutic effect of Ranibizumab on retinopathy of prematurity(ROP)with or without preretinal hemorrhage(PRH). METHODS: From April 2017 to January 2018, a retrospective study was carried out on the diagnosed and treated ROP cases 66 eyes of 34 in the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Nanchang University. All the infants were divided into two groups according to PRH or not. All patients were treated with intravitreal Ranibizumab under tropical anesthesia. The infants were followed up, and the cure and retreatment rate between the two groups after initial treatment were compared. RESULTS: After the initial treatment of intravitreal Ranibizumab, the cure rate was 65%(17)and 98%(39), and the retreatment rate was 35%(9)and 2%(1)in bleeding and non-bleeding group, respectively. 9 eyes with PRH needed retreatment; however, only 1 eye retreatment in the non-bleeding group. Notably, all the retreatment cases were cured by once more intravitreal Ranibizumab. The cure rate between two groups was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The curative effect with initial treatment of ROP with PRH was significantly lower than that without PRH. The retreatment cases were attenuated by repeated intravitreal Ranibizumab treatment.

AIM: To explore the possible application of quadrant classification in retinopathy of premature infants at threshold and type 1 pre-threshold stage.METHODS: Thirty-two preterm infants with retinopathy at the threshold and type 1 threshold preterm stage in the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Nanchang University from April 2017 to January 2018 were recruited for retrospective case analysis. The main location and stage of the retinopathy in these premature infants were divided into three categories by the quadrant method: only one quadrant(above the nose, subnasal, supratemporal, and subtemporal)recorded as “1 quadrant”; distributed in two quadrants(supertemporal+infratemporal, supra-nasal+sub-nasal, supra-nasal+super-temporal, sub-nasal+sub-temporal, supra-nasal+sub-temporal, sub-nasal+super-temporal)were recorded as “2 quadrants”; distributed more than two quadrants recorded as “>2 quadrants”. The clinic characteristics of all cases and the responses to intravitreal injection of ranibizumab were observed according to the quadrant method. RESULTS: Totally 32 cases with 62 eyes of premature infants recruited in the study. Only 2 eyes were in 1 quadrant before surgery, and the efficiency of a single injection was 100%. A total of 25 eyes were distributed in 2 quadrants, and with a single injection, the effective rate was 100%. 35 eyes with a distribution “2 quadrants” had a single injection rate of only 74% and a recurrence rate of 26%. CONCLUSION: The main lesions in most cases are distributed in “2 quadrants”(supertemporal+subtemporal). The more of quadrants accumulated for the major lesions and the more severe of the condition; the higher recurrence rate after intravitreous anti-VEGF therapy.

AIM: To investigate whether inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by donepezil ameliorate aberrant retinal neovascularization (RNV) and abnormal glial activation in oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR). METHODS: A mouse model of RNV was induced in postnatal day 7 (P7) mice by exposure to 75% oxygen. Donepezil was administrated to P12 mice by intraperitoneal injection. Expression and localization of AChE in mouse retinas were determined by immunofluorescence. RNV was evaluated by paraffin sectioning and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Activation of retinal Müller glial cells were examined by immunoblot of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). rMC-1, a retinal Müller cell line, was used for in vitro study. Expression of hypoxia-induced factor 1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were determined by Western-blot analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or immunostaining. RESULTS: Aberrant RNV and glial activation was observed after OIR. Of note, retinal AChE was mainly expressed by retinal Müller glial cells and markedly increased in OIR mice. Systemic administration of donepezil significantly reduced RNV and abnormal glial activation in mice with OIR. Moreover, ischemia-induced HIF-1α accumulation and VEGF upregulation in OIR mouse retinas and cultured rMC-1 were significantly inhibited by donepezil intervention. CONCLUSION: AchE is implicated in RNV with OIR. Inhibition of AChE by donepeizl is likely to be a potential therapeutic approach for retinal neovascular diseases.

AIM: To investigate the short-term and mid-term effectiveness and safety of transscleral ciliary body photocoagulation in the treatment of high intraocular pressure after the removal of malignant glaucoma ciliary ring block.METHODS: Retrospective study. A collection of 14 eyes of 14 patients with high intraocular pressure after ciliary ring block was lifted from 2016-10/2019-10 malignant glaucoma were treated with 810nm semiconductor diode laser transscleral ciliary photocoagulation. Follow-up 8.36±5.18mo, observation Best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), intraocular pressure and complications before and after surgery.RESULTS: The intraocular pressure of 13.60±3.50mmHg at the last follow-up after treatment was different from 40.53±7.14mmHg before operation(P0.05). All patients had no difference to the last follow-up and serious complications.CONCLUSION: The 810nm semiconductor diode laser transscleral ciliary body photocoagulation is effective in the treatment of malignant glaucoma. It is easy to operate, has fewer complications, can effectively reduce intraocular pressure, and has little damage to the best corrected vision after surgery.

AIM: To describe the application of image acquisition function of smart phone with slit lamp examination in the ophthalmology residency training program.METHODS: The supporting set for smart phone can be securely connected to the ocular lens of slit lamp microscopy. The anterior or fundus photos and dynamic videos were obtained through slit lamp examination with non-contact lens, three-mirror lens or gonio lens. Acquired images or recorded videos were transmitted to ophthalmology trainee by using wireless local area network(WLAN), WeChat and other software.RESULTS: High quality images and dynamic video could be successfully taken with smart phone and supporting set by slit lamp examination, which could clearly display tissue details and pathological features. The fast transmission of image data can enable more trainees to access clinic education resource simultaneously and communicate with each other timely and effectively.CONCLUSION: High resolution smart phones are wildly used and supporting sets are very accessible; thus high quality of images could be easily obtained for clinical teaching purpose. Furthermore, it enriches the clinical teaching resources. So the application of image acquisition function of smart phone with slit lamp examination is worthy in the standardized training of ophthalmology residents.

In order to identify different lubrication states, lubrication experiments were carried out on a Bruker UMT-3 tester. The experimental results show that the frequency band energy characteristics of friction vibration signals are different under different lubrication states. Based on this, a lubrication state recognition method with ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and support vector machine (SVM) was proposed. The vibration signals were decomposed into a finite number of stationary intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) with the EEMD method. The first six IMF components containing the main friction information were retained to calculate the energy ratio and construct the feature vector. The experimental results show that the mixed lubrication state can be identified by hundred percent, and there is a slight confusion between boundary lubrication and dry friction. The results show that frequency band energy of friction vibration signals is an effective feature to identify different lubrication states, and the proposed method can be used to identify different lubrication states.

AIM: To compare a trifocal intraocular lens (IOL) and a bifocal IOL implantation in improving visual function after cataract surgery. METHODS: Eligible literatures were systematically searched through EMBASE and PubMed databases. The inclusion criteria were prospective comparative clinical trials on cataract surgery comparing trifocal IOL with bifocal IOL implantation that assessed visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and subjective vision quality. The effects were computed as standardized mean differences and pooled using fixed-effect or random-effect models. RESULTS: Four prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and five cohorts provided data were included by a systematic review, comprising 265 eyes implanted with trifocal IOLs and 264 eyes implanted with bifocal IOLs. Monocular distance visual acuity (VA) showed a statistically significant but small difference that favored trifocal IOLs (MD=-0.06; 95%CI, -0.10 to -0.02; Z=2.90, P=0.004 for uncorrected distance VA, and MD= -0.02; 95%CI, -0.03 to -0.00; Z=2.02, P=0.04 for corrected distance VA), but the data did not suggest that the effect of trifocal IOL implantation would clinically outperform bifocal IOL implantation. There was no significant difference in monocular near VA (MD=-0.01; 95%CI, -0.07 to 0.04; Z=0.42, P=0.68 for distance-corrected near VA, and MD=-0.01; 95%CI, -0.06 to 0.03; Z=0.55, P=0.58 for corrected near VA) or refraction between two groups. Contrast sensitivity and subjective visual quality had no conclusive results. CONCLUSION: All results indicate that trifocal IOL and bifocal IOL had similar levels of monocular distance and near VA.

AIM: To describe the application of smart phone and supporting set for acquiring fundus images with slitlamp examination and non-contact lens in primary hospital of the rural area. METHODS: The supporting set for smart phone was purchased from taobao and securely connected to the ocular lens of slitlamp microscopy. The fundus photos were imaged with assistance of non-contact slitlamp lens from Volk. RESULTS: High quality images of various retinal diseases could be successfully taken with smart phone and supporting set by slitlamp examination. The fundus images were send to patients with Wechat as medical records or used for telconsultant. CONCLUSION: High resolution smart phones are wildly used nowadays and supporting sets are very accessible; thus high quality of images could be obtained with minimal cost in rural hospitals. The digital fundus images will be beneficial for medical record and rapid diagnosis with telconsultant.

AIM: To investigate whether curcumin suppressed corneal neovascularization (CNV) formation via inhibiting activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway. METHODS: Suture-induced CNV was established on Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Curcumin were daily administrated by subconjunctival injection. Phosphorylation of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) and nuclear accumulation of β-catenin, two indicators of activated Wnt/β-catenin pathway, were determined by Western-blot analysis in subconfluent/proliferating human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC) and neovascularized corneas. Wnt3a conditioned medium (WCM) were harvested from Wnt3a expressing cells. WCM-induced cell proliferation and endothelial tubular formation capacity was measured by MTT assay and Matrigel assay, respectively. RESULTS: Phosphorylation of LRP6 and nuclear accumulation of β-catenin was significantly increased in subconfluent/proliferating endothelial cells. Activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway by WCM markedly promotes HMEC proliferation and tubular formation. Curcumin inhibited LRP6 phosphorylation and nuclear accumulation of β-catenin. In addition, curcumin attenuated WCM-induced HMEC proliferation and disrupted tubular structure of endothelial cells on Matrigel. Meanwhile curcumin suppressed suture-induced CNV and inhibited LRP6 phosphorylation as well as β-catenin accumulation in SD rats. CONCLUSION: Taken together, activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway could be involved in endothelial proliferation during suture-induced CNV formation and curcumin attenuated CNV formation via inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation.

AIM: To evaluate 23G vitrectomy for macular edema in eyes with retinal vein occlusion(RVO)combined with vitreoretinal traction(VMT)or epiretinal membrane(ERM).METHODS: Totally 22 patients(22 eyes)diagnosed with macular edema of RVO combined with VMT or ERM were retrospectively analyzed. Twelve cases performed with 23G vitrectomy together with peeling of inner limiting membrane(ILM)and/or ERM were considered as the observation group or intervention group. Ten cases without vitrectomy were recruited as control group. The best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)and central retinal thickness(CRT)at baseline, 1, 3 and 6mo were recorded and compared.RESULTS: At baseline, the difference of BCVA and CRT between observation group and control group was not statistically significant(P=0.645, 0.206). After vitrectomy, the BCVA and CRT of RVO patients in observation group were significantly improved compared with baseline at each follow-up(F=2.895, P=0.048; F=16.431, PCONCLUSION: The 23G vitrectomy could markedly improve BCVA and reduce CRT in RVO patients with macular edema combined with VMT and/or ERM.

AIM: To describe the protocol and economic cost of the Day-care Unit cataract surgery procedure in northwest of China.METHODS: Patients who received phacoemulcification and intraocular lens implantation in both Day-care Unit and regular Unit were recruited from January 2016 to December 2016. The baseline data and average cost were recorded and analyzed. Furthermore, satisfaction questionnaire of patients were collected.RESULTS: Patients with Day-care Unit showed shorter registration duration, less cost including housing and nursing charge as well as higher rate of patient satisfaction. Meanwhile, Day-care Unit shorten the time the doctors and nurses spending on filling the medical charts.CONCLUSION:Day-care Unit cataract surgery procedure could benefit both patients and medical staffs and is worthy to generalize.

AIM: To evaluate visual acuity outcomes after phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration(wAMD). METHODS: We reviewed the medical documents of the patients who underwent phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation surgery during June 2013 and January 2016. Totally 61 eyes of 48 patients with wAMD in the stable stage were recruited. The pre- and post-operative vision of selected cases were recorded and compared.RESULTS: After phacoemulsification and intralocular lens implantation, visual acuity changes were as follows: 49 eyes improved, 11 eyes retained, and 1 eye deteriorated. Visual acuity improvement after cataract surger were statistically significant(PCONCLUSION: Visual acuity improved in patients with wet AMD after phacoemulcification and intraocular lens implantation.

For the purpose of extracting the frictional vibration characteristics of the friction pair during friction and wear in different friction states, the friction and wear tests of friction pair in different friction states were conducted on a testing machine. Higher-dimensional fractal and multifractal characteristics hidden in time series can be examined by multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA) method. The frictional vibration time-domain signals, the friction coefficient signals and the frictional vibration frequency-domain signals were analyzed and multifractal spectra were acquired by using the MFDFA algorithm. According to the spectra, the multifractal spectrum parameters of these signals were calculated to realize the quantitative characterization of frictional vibration characteristics in different friction states. The analysis shows that it is symmetric in the variation trends of the multifractal spectrum parameters of the frictional vibration signals and the friction coefficient data. Based on the multifractal spectrum parameters of frictional vibration, the principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm was applied to establish the friction state recognition method. The results show that the multifractal spectra and their parameters can characterize the frictional vibrations, and the friction state recognition can be realized based on the multifractal spectrum parameters of frictional vibrations.

AIM:To investigate the expression of transcription factors Slug in human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by connective tissue growth factor (CTGF).METHODS: HLECs were treated with CTGF of different concentrations (20, 50 and 100 ng/mL) or without CTGF (control) for 24h. The morphological changes of HLECs were analysed by microscopy. The expression and cellular localization of Slug was evaluated by immumo-fluorescence. Expressions of Slug, E-cadherin and alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were further determined by Western blot analysis. RESULTS: HLECs showed spidle fibrolasts-like characteristics and loosely connected each other after CTGF treatment. The immuno-fluorescence staining indicated that Slug was localized in the nuclei and its expression was induced by CTGF. The relative expressions of Slug protein were 1.64±0.11, 1.96 ±0.03, 3.12 ±0.10, and 4.08±0.14, respectively, in response to control group and treatment with CTGF of 20, 50 and 100 ng/mL (F=443.86, PCONCLUSION: Transcription factor Slug may be involved in EMT of HLECs induced by CTGF in vitro.

AIM: To retrospectively analyze the surgical strategies and outcome of traumatic lens dislocation. METHODS: Retrospective study. Clinical data of 105 cases(105 eyes)diagnosed with traumatic lens dislocation from April to June 2014 in our hospital were recruited. According to position of dislocated lens and complicated situations, different surgical approaches were performed, including intracapsular lens extraction, phacoemulsification, vitrectomy through pars plana and lensectomy.Meanwhile, vitreo-retinal or anti-glaucoma surgeries were performed in complicated cases.Preoperative and postoperative LogMar(Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution)visual acuity were compared by paired t-test. Perioperative complications including expulsive choroidal hemorrhages and recurrent retinal detachment were recorded and assessed. RESULTS: All 105 dislocated lenses were removed completely. Visual acuity of 91 eyes(86.7%)were significantly improved postoperatively.The visual acuity of most patients was 0.1-0.3(42 eyes, 40.0%)and 1 patient's visual acuity with lens subluxation reached more than 0.8 postoperatively. Expulsive choroidal hemorrhages occurred in 1 eye intraoperatively and 1 eye postoperatively. Recurrent retinal detachment was observed in 2 eyes postoperatively. CONCLUSION: According to position of the lens dislocation, personalized surgery strategy is critical for therapy of traumatic lens dislocation.Expulsive choroidal hemorrhage is one of most several complications and should be managed properly.

AIM: To investigate the efficacy and safety of Honghua preserved amniotic membrane (AM) for preventing scar formation of the filtering bleb in a rabbit model of glaucoma trabeculectomy surgery.METHODS: Totally 36 rabbits (36 eyes) were randomly divided into 3 groups:the experimental group (ocular trabeculectomy in combination with Honghua preserved AM transplantation), the control group (ocular trabeculectomy surgery in combination with AM implantation), and the blank group (single trabeculectomy). Clinical observations [including intraocular pressure (IOP), filtering blebs and complications], Masson-Trichrome staining, real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR), Western blot were performed on different time points (D1, D7, D14, D21 and D56) after the surgery.RESULTS: After operated for 14d, there were statistically significant differences in the filtering blebs compared to the situation before operation (P<0.05), whereas no statistically difference on that among three groups (P>0.05). After 21d, the IOP of experimental group was lowest (P<0.05). There was significant difference between control group and blank group (P<0.05). On postoperative D14, the mean number of fibroblasts in the experimental group was significantly lower (40.6±10.2) compared to those in the control group (54.4±10.8) and blank group (68.2±11.6) (P<0.05, respectively). The mean numbers of the macrophage in the experimental and control groups were respcitively significantly lower versus the blank group (P<0.05, P<0.05, respectively). Compared to that in blank group, the level of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β1) expression in sclera and conjunctival areas was reduced in the experimental and control groups on protein and mRNA level (PP>0.05).CONCLUSION:The trabeculectory surgery with Honghua preserved AM can control IOP, sustain the functional filtration bleb, inhibit the proliferation of fibroblasts and open the filtrating pathway on the rabbit glaucoma models.

To explore the effects of harvest time on phenolic compounds during wine fermentation, grape berries (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Vidal) were harvested at 17.5, 22.8 and 37.2º Brix and were used to make dry wine, semi-sweet wine and icewine with low alcohol levels, respectively. Phenolic acids and flavan-3-ols were assayed during the fermentation of wines by means of reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The results showed that concentrations of most of the phenolic acids and flavan-3-ol in musts increased with harvest time delay and higher total levels of these species were detected in all wines, compared with those measured before fermentation (the total phenolic acid content in wines was 1.5-2.0 fold that of in musts). Except for p-coumaric acid and (-)-epicatechin, other phenolic acids and flavan-3-ols had similar variation patterns (wave-like rise) during fermentation in dry wine and semi-sweet wine. However, some detected compounds, including gentisic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and sinapic acid showed obviously different trends from the other two wines in the icewine making process. It is thus suggested that the harvest time has a decisive effect on phenols in final wines and influences the evolution of phenolic acids and flavan-3-ols during wine fermentation.

The desorption characteristics of coalbed in China are affected by many factors. The desorption ratio of coalbed gas is approximately 40%, and mostly less than 70%, and it is affected by gas content and coalbed pressure. Most of the desorption time values are between 0.1883 and 19.17d, and the time span of high-rank coal is the highest, which can reach 30 d. The value has a positive correlation with coal rank. A great number of experimental data show that temperature, coal dimension and shape, coal rank, ash content, gas content, cleat, sediment environment, and coal style are the main factors affecting desorption time. According to the numerical simulation result, coal desorption volume affects the single well production. And the single well output has a positive correlation with the desorption. The variation of coal desorption time value can induce the change of output peak value of a single well and its occurrence time. Key words: coal bed reservoir, desorption characteristics, desorption velocity, desorption rate, adsorption time, affecting factor

Red wines produced in the Xinjiang region of China possess poor color density, and lack fruity notes and elegance. The freeze concentration technique, as a well-established concentration method for liquid food systems, was applied to the Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) wine-making process, aiming to investigate its effect on wine quality improvement. Results showed that the freeze concentration treatment did not significantly alter the physicochemical properties of the wine, except for an increase of glycerol and alcoholic content. This technique increased ester contents, as well as decreasing the amount of volatile acids. Higher alcohol contents were also increased, but within an acceptable content range. All taken into consideration, the freeze concentration treated wine showed better fragrance characters according to sensory evaluation. The non-anthocyanin composition was altered by this application, however, the difference disappeared after the aging process. Fortunately, sensory evaluation showed that the treated wine possessed better mouthfeel properties. Anthocyanin contents were enhanced, and effectively stabilized the fresh wine color attributes, resulting in an improvement in appearance of the treated wine. All results considered, it can be concluded that freeze concentration treatment could be a good choice to improve wine quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the molecular expression and cloning L-Idonate dehydrogenase (L-IdnDH), an enzyme of the tartaric acid (TA) biosynthetic pathway in grape berries, along with protein fusion purification and antibody production. The study used reverse transcription analysis, western blotting, and subcellular localization to examine the mechanisms behind such processes. Results show no presence of Vitis vinifera IdnDH (VvIdnDH) transcript in mature berries.