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The West Kunlun orogenic belt (WKOB) is a complex orogenic belt that preserves the evidence of Early Palaeozoic and Late Palaeozoic orogenic events, with the former resulting from the closure of th...

To investigate the change and recovery of choroid thickness after short-term application of 1% atropine gel and its influencing factors in 6-7-year-old children.71 right eyes of 71 children were enrolled and divided into myopia and control group. 1% atropine gel was administered twice a day for one week and then stopped. Spherical equivalent (SE), accommodative amplitude (AA), keratometry (K), axial length (AL), and choroidal thickness (CT) were obtained at baseline and 1In both groups, all CTs increased following the change in SE, AA, and AL after administration of 1% atropine for one week. They gradually recovered to baseline levels seven weeks after withdrawal. The change (Δ) in CT at 3 mm superior from the fovea was significantly higher in the myopia group than in the control group. In both groups, ΔCT at subfovea had no significant correlation with SE, AA, and AL, both at baseline and one week. However, ΔCT at subfovea was negatively correlated with ΔAL in the control group.One-week application of 1% atropine gel may increase CT in 6-7-year-old Chinese children. Meanwhile, the recovery process after withdrawal lasts seven weeks. During the recovery process, the changes in structural parameters (AL, CT) and functional parameters (AA, SE) in both groups occurred synchronously. The SE, AA, and AL at baseline may not predict the extent of atropine's effect on CT.

Objective To use optical coherence tomography (OCT) to compare retinal biomarkers of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to multifocal choroiditis (MFC), myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV), and idiopathic choroidal neovascularization (ICNV) and to provide a basis for its clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods In this retrospective case study, patients admitted to the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University between January 2018 and January 2021 who were initially diagnosed with CNV secondary to MFC, mCNV, and ICNV were categorized into groups, by disease, for analysis. Spectral domain-OCT (SD-OCT) was used to describe and measure the morphological characteristics of CNV lesions in each group. The retinal biomarkers of CNV in MFC, mCNV, and ICNV were compared. Results Sixty-eight patients (71 eyes) were included and all eyes were diagnosed with active type 2 CNV. The MFC group had higher refraction than the ICNV group (P2 0.05). Conclusions OCT biomarkers, such as the diameter of the CNV, SRF, the “pitchfork sign,” and CT under CNV are useful in distinguishing CNV secondary to MFC from mCNV, which can allow the timely selection of treatment in some difficult cases. There were no differences between the MFC group and ICNV group except in refractive error, which indicates that some ICNV cases may be an early stage of a type of occult chorioretinitis. Long-term follow-up is needed for ICNV patients to confirm whether there is any potential inflammation.Key messagesSometimes, it is difficult to separate MFC with CNV from myopic CNV and ICNV in clinical.OCT biomarkers, such as the diameter of the CNV, SRF, the “pitchfork sign,” and CT under CNV are useful in distinguishing CNV secondary to MFC from mCNV.There were no differences between the MFC group and ICNV group except in refractive error.

Background Chemotherapy is the primary treatment for most cancers apart from surgery. However, the use of chemotherapeutic drugs is limited by side effects and restricted accumulation in tumors because of unique tumor microenvironments. Macrophages have excellent drug delivery potential owing to their chemotaxis and can home in on tumors. Materials and methods We developed an effective drug-delivery system for doxorubicin using macrophages. Doxorubicin-loaded egg yolk lipid-derived nanovectors (EYLNs-Dox) were prepared, EYLNs-Dox-loaded macrophages (Mac/EYLNs-Dox) were developed and their tumor penetration and anti-cancer activity against 4T1 cells were analyzed. The biodistribution and anti-4T1 breast cancer activities were determined using 4T1 subcutaneous and lung metastasis models. Results EYLNs-Dox was successfully internalized into macrophages without affecting their viability and was less toxic than Dox. Mac/EYLNs-Dox penetrated the 4T1 tumor spheroids more efficiently and was more effective in inhibiting tumors in vitro. Macrophages significantly enhanced the distribution of EYLNs vectors in both inflammatory and tumor sites, playing a more effective role in the inhibition of tumors. Conclusion EYLNs-Dox can be effectively delivered using macrophages and Mac/EYLNs-Dox might be a promising targeted delivery system for breast cancer.

To evaluate sensitivity of moisture damage resistance with chemical composition of asphalt, the adhesion energy, debonding energy as well as compatibility ratio of 69 asphalt-aggregate combinations were calculated with thermodynamical models. Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis were carried out to correlate the relationships between asphalt chemical composition (saturates, aromatics, resins, asphaltenes, and wax) and moisture stability of asphalt mixture. The results showed that more resins and less asphaltenes in asphalt could lead to better moisture stability of asphalt mixture under dry and wet conditions, which can be effectively predicted by multiple regression models with different asphalt chemical components.

Styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) modified asphalt used in road engineering is a complicated mixture of various compositions. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of different r...

In order to constrain its petrogenesis and mineralization, a detailed study of Miocene quartz diorite porphyry from the Ciemas area of West Java, Indonesia, was undertaken, including geochronology and major and trace element analyses. Ciemas quartz diorite porphyry contains medium–coarse-grained quartz and hornblende phenocrysts in a matrix of primarily cryptocrystalline quartz and feldspar. The rocks belong to the calc-alkaline-high K calc-alkaline series. The quartz diorite porphyry and Miocene dacite and andesite wall rocks have similar compositions, both being enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) K, Rb, Th, and U, depleted in high-field strength elements (HFSEs) Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, and P; with light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched patterns and negative Eu anomalies, which are typical for arc magmatic rocks. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon ages of andesite, amphibolic tuff breccia, and quartz diorite porphyry are 17.5 ± 0.3, 16.9 ± 0.3, and 17.1 ± 0.4 Ma, respectively. The quartz diorite porphyry for...

Ore-forming P-T-X conditions and the nature of gold occurrence in the Shaxi-Changpushan porphyry copper deposit, central Anhui Province, eastern China, were investigated employing a wide range of geological and geochemical methods. Our results document liquid-vapour conditions and show that abundant fluid inclusions occur in quartz veins accompanied by pyrite-chalcopyrite-gold mineralization. Most economic deposits involved coexisting liquid and gas phases, whereas a few formed in equilibrium with a homogeneous aqueous liquid. The ore-forming temperature lies between 230 and 350°C. Isotope studies show that the δ34 S values are between –0.20 and 3.00‰ for most of the sulphides; δ34 S values of chalcopyrite are somewhat more homogenous than those of pyrite. Ore-forming fluids and materials were mainly derived from magmatic sources. Meteoric water played a small role in the ore-forming process, judging by the oxygen and hydrogen isotope data for fluid inclusions measured by the explosion method (δ1...

More than a dozen molybdenum prospects, distributed within a zone about 200 km long and 20 km wide, have been discovered in the Eastern Qinling orogenic belt, central China. These deposits are mainly hosted within small, dominantly granoporphyritic and quartz monzonitic intrusions of Cretaceous age. They can be classified into five groups based on spatial relationships between the ores and intrusions: porphyry-type, transitional-type (between porphyry and skarn), skarn-type, vent breccia-type, and hydrothermal vein-type Mo deposits. Regional geologic relations and deep-seated structures define the presence of the Luanchuan syncline, an EW-striking west-dipping depression located beneath the Mo-bearing metallogenic zone. Because the axis of the syncline is west-dipping in the study area and the crust overlying it is thickened, the stress is inhomogeneous, resulting in a S–N compressive stress in the deep crust and development of a set of NE-oriented extension-shear faults. These faults are superimposed on ...

The Zhaotong native copper deposit in Yunnan, Southwest China, is associated with the upper Middle Permian Emeishan flood basalts and is mainly hosted in the upper part of the Emeishan volcanic succession. Native copper mainly appears as disseminations in basaltic tuffs, and vesicular and brecciated tops of subaerial lava flows. Sheets of native copper up to 30 x 10 x 0.2 cm have also been found along fractures within the volcanic breccias. The native copper is associated with bitumen, zeolite, quartz, and calcite, typical of a low-temperature (100-150°C) hydrothermal alteration assemblage. The ore grades vary from ~0.1 to 20 wt% Cu. Copper was likely a result of organicinorganic interactions under conditions of the paucity of reduced S.