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Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) is an indicator of renal function and catabolic status in human body. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a major microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and a serious threat to the vision of diabetic patients. We included 426 type 2 diabetic patients who visited the endocrinology department of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and received an ophthalmology consultation from December 2017 to November 2018. The outcome was the probability of DR in participants. Multivariable logistics analysis was used to confirm the relationship between BUN and the probability of DR. And interaction tests were conducted to find the effects of DM duration on their association. A total of 167 of 426 patients with type 2 diabetes had DR, with a probability of 39.20%. After adjusting for potential confounders, a positive association between BUN and the probability of DR (OR = 1.12; 95% CI 1.03–1.21; P = 0.0107). And a test for interaction between DM duration and BUN on the probability of DR was significant (P = 0.0295). We suggested that in patients with type 2 diabetes, BUN was positively associated with the probability of DR and the association was influenced by DM duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial keratitis, a nonviral corneal infection caused by bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, is an urgent condition in ophthalmology requiring prompt treatment in order to prevent severe complications of corneal perforation and vision loss. It is difficult to distinguish between bacterial and fungal keratitis from image unimodal alone, as the characteristics of the sample images themselves are very close. Therefore, this study aims to develop a new deep learning model called knowledge-enhanced transform-based multimodal classifier that exploited the potential of slit-lamp images along with treatment texts to identify bacterial keratitis (BK) and fungal keratitis (FK). The model performance was evaluated in terms of the accuracy, specificity, sensitivity and the area under the curve (AUC). 704 images from 352 patients were divided into training, validation and testing set. In the testing set, our model reached the best accuracy was 93%, sensitivity was 0.97(95% CI [0.84,1]), specificity was 0.92(95% CI [0.76,0.98]) and AUC was 0.94(95% CI [0.92,0.96]), exceeding the benchmark accuracy of 0.86. The diagnostic average accuracies of BK ranged from 81 to 92%, respectively and those for FK were 89–97%. It is the first study to focus on the influence of disease changes and medication interventions on infectious keratitis and our model outperformed the benchmark models and reaching the state-of-the-art performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An algebraic group is called semi-reductive if it is a semi-direct product of a reductive subgroup and the unipotent radical. Such a semi-reductive algebraic group naturally arises and also plays a key role in the study of modular representations of non-classical finite-dimensional simple Lie algebras in positive characteristic, and some other cases. Let G be a connected semi-reductive algebraic group over an algebraically closed field F and g = Lie(G) . It turns out that G has many same properties as reductive groups, such as the Bruhat decomposition. In this note, we obtain an analogue of classical Chevalley restriction theorem for g , which says that the G-invariant ring F [ g ] G is a polynomial ring if g satisfies a certain "positivity" condition suited for lots of cases we are interested in. As applications, we further investigate the nilpotent cones and resolutions of singularities for semi-reductive Lie algebras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to examine whether the efficacy of the risk of poor prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease is jointly affected by total cholesterol and baseline serum albumin in a secondary analysis of previous study. We analyzed the data of 204 patients from October 2014 to October 2017 for newly diagnosed stable CAD. The outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE; defined as all cause mortality, non fatal myocardial infarction, and non fatal stroke). The median duration of follow-up was 783 days. Multivariable COX model was performed to revalidate the relationship between the sALB and MACE and interaction tests were conducted to find the effects of total cholesterol on their association. A total of 28 MACE occurred among the 204 participants. The risk of MACE varied by baseline serum albumin and total cholesterol. Specifically, lower serum albumin indicated higher risk of MACE (HR 3.52, 95% CI 1.30–9.54), and a test for interaction between baseline serum albumin and total cholesterol on MACE was significant (P = 0.0005). We suggested that baseline serum albumin and total cholesterol could interactively affect the risk of poor prognosis of patients with coronary artery diseases. Our findings need to be confirmed by further randomized trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let g be a restricted Lie superalgebra of Cartan type W(n), S(n)or H(n) over an algebraically closed field k of prime characteristic p > 3, in the sense of modular version of Kac's definition in 1977. In this note, we show that the restricted representation category over g has only one block (reckoning parities in). This phenomenon is very different from the case of characteristic zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let F be an algebraically closed field of prime characteristic, and W(m, n, 1) be the simple restricted Lie superalgebra of Witt type over F, which is the Lie superalgebra of superderivations of the superalgebra A (m ; 1) ⊗ ∧ (n) , where A (m ; 1) is the truncated polynomial algebra with m indeterminants and ∧(n) is the Grassmann algebra with n indeterminants. In this paper, the author determines the character formulas for a class of simple restricted modules of W(m, n, 1) with atypical weights of type I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Let n be a positive integer, and 프(n)=F[x]/(xpn), the divided power algebra over an algebraically closed field F of prime characteristic p > 2. Let π(n) be the tensor product of 프(n) and the Grassmann superalgebra ∧(1) in one variable. The Zassenhaus superalgebra 풵(n) is defined to be the Lie superalgebra of the special super derivations of the superalgebra π(n). In this paper we study simple modules over the Zassenhaus superalgebra 풵(n) with p-characters of height 0. We give a complete classification of the isomorphism classes of such simple modules and determine their dimensions. A sufficient and necessary condition for the irreducibility of Kac modules is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a metal grating structure is usually fabricated for momentum-matching a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) with photon, for surface plasmon (SP) coupling application in a light-emitting diode (LED), localized surface plasmon (LSP) on such a structure also plays an important role. We numerically study the LSP resonance behaviors, including the localized resonance behavior of counter-propagating SPP interference, of an Ag grating on GaN. It is found that the resonance behaviors of LSP are controlled not only by the geometry of a grating ridge, but also by grating period, particularly when the grating period is small. In a grating with sharp ridge, large ridge height or width, LSP features of dense charge distributions around the boundaries between ridges and connecting valleys exist. The spectral positions of such LSP features are weakly dependent on the ridge width. Among such features, those with their mode field oscillations across a ridge and hence distributions in an extended space around the ridge can more strongly couple with the quantum wells of an LED. Because of the short coverage range of SPP evanescent field, the localized resonance feature caused by counter-propagating SPP interference has a shorter coupling range. For LED application, an LSP mode with field oscillation across a ridge is preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effects of corneal thickness distribution and apex position on postoperative refractive status after full-bed deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (FBDALK).Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of patients who were diagnosed with advanced keratoconus between 2011 and 2014 in our hospital. The base of the cone in all patients did not exceed the central cornea at a 6-mm range. The FBDALK was performed by a same surgeon. All patients had a complete corneal suture removal and the follow-up records were intact. Patients who had graft-bed misalignment or who were complicated with a cataract or glaucoma were excluded. Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacle corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), and Pentacam examination data were recorded at two years postoperatively. The recorded data included the superior-inferior (S-I) and nasal-temporal (N-T) corneal thickness differences in 2, 4, 6, and 8 mm diameter concentric circles with the corneal apex as the center (S-I2 mm, S-I4 mm, S-I6 mm, S-I8 mm, N-T2 mm, N-T4 mm, N-T6 mm, and N-T8 mm), the linear, X-axis, and Y-axis distance between the corneal pupillary center and the cornea apex, total corneal astigmatism at a zone of 3 mm diameter from the corneal apex (TA3 mm), the astigmatic vector values J0 and J45, and the corneal total higher-order aberration for 3 and 6 mm pupil diameters (HOA3 mm and HOA6 mm). Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 15.0.Results: A total of 47 eyes of 46 patients met the criteria and were included in this study. The mean follow-up time was (28±7) months. The mean UCVA was 0.45±0.23 (logMAR) (MAR: minimum angle of resolution) and the mean BSCVA was 0.19±0.15 (logMAR), which were all significantly positively correlated with postoperative TA3 mm and HOA3 mm. The mean S-I corneal thickness differences were (44.62±37.74) μm, and the mean N-T was (38.57±32.29) μm. S-I2 mm was significantly positively correlated with J0 (r=0.31), J45 (r=0.42), HOA3 mm (r=0.37), and HOA6 mm (r=0.48). S-I4 mm and S-I8 mm were significantly positively correlated with HOA3 mm (r=0.30, r=0.40) and HOA6 mm (r=0.46, r=0.35). The X-axis distance between corneal pupillary center and corneal apex was significantly positively correlated with J45 (r=0.29).Conclusions: In patients with advanced keratoconus after FBDALK, the unevenly distributed thickness at corneal pupillary area and the misalignment of corneal apex and pupillary center might cause significant regular and irregular astigmatism, which affected the postoperative visual quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let g=W1 be the Witt algebra over an algebraically closed field k of characteristic p > 3; and let be the commuting variety of g. In contrast with the case of classical Lie algebras of P. Levy [J. Algebra, 2002, 250: 473-484], we show that the variety is reducible, and not equidimensional. Irreducible components of and their dimensions are precisely given. As a consequence, the variety is not normal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enhancement of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of deep-ultraviolet AlxGa1-xN/AlyGa1-yN (x < y) quantum wells (QWs) by fabricating one-dimensional Al nanogratings on a QW structure for inducing surface plasmon (SP) coupling is demonstrated. Through temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurement, the enhancements of IQE in different emission polarizations are illustrated. Due to the small difference in energy band level between the heavy/light hole and split-off valence bands, the IQEs of the transverse electric- (TE-) and transverse magnetic- (TM-) polarized emissions are about the same. When emission polarization is perpendicular to Al-grating ridges, the SP resonance mode for coupling with the QWs is dominated by localized surface plasmon (LSP). When emission polarization is parallel with Al-grating ridges, the coupled SP resonance mode may mix LSP and SP polariton. In this polarization, LSP can be excited because of the width fluctuation of a grating ridge. When the excitation laser polarization is perpendicular to Al-grating ridges, the strong LSP resonance at the excitation laser wavelength leads to stronger excitation and hence higher IQE levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the lower tear meniscus height (LTMH), central tear film thickness (CTFT), and central corneal epithelial thickness (CCET) after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK).Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of 20 patients who had DALK in one eye over a three-month period. LTMH, CTFT, and CCET of the operated eyes and the unoperated fellow eyes were measured using high-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT). Correlations between three OCT assessments and age, time following surgery, graft size, bed size, and the number of residual sutures were analyzed.Results: Compared to patients with keratoconus, patients with other corneal conditions had significantly higher CCET in the fellow eye (P=0.024). For all patients, CCET in the operated eye was significantly negatively correlated with the number of residual sutures (R=−0.579, P=0.008), and was significantly positively correlated with time following surgery (R=0.636, P=0.003). In the fellow eye, a significant positive correlation was found between age and CCET (R=0.551, P=0.012), and a significant negative correlation between age and CTFT (R=−0.491, P=0.028). LTMH was found to be significantly correlated between operated and fellow eyes (R=0.554, P=0.011). There was no significant correlation between LTMH and age, bed/graft size, time following surgery, or residual sutures (all possible correlations, P>0.05).Conclusions: Patients with keratoconus tend to have a thinner central corneal epithelium. Corneal epithelium keeps regenerating over time after DALK. DALK did not induce a significant change in tear volume compared with the fellow eye. Postoperative tear function might depend on an individual’s general condition, rather than on age, gender, bed/graft size, time following surgery, or residual sutures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Surface plasmon (SP) coupling behaviors of an InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) with surface plasmon polariton (SPP) induced on a smooth Ag-film/GaN interface and localized surface plasmon (LSP) induced on randomly distributed surface Ag nanoparticles (NPs) are compared based on temperature-dependent, excitation power-dependent, and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements. By comparing the variations of PL excitation power-dependent emission at 10 and 300 K, the contribution of SP coupling to the increase of PL intensity can be differentiated from that of PL excitation-intensity increase at the QW due to the enhanced reflection at the Ag/GaN interface. The observed stronger SP coupling effect through SPP, when compared with that through LSP, is attributed to its larger available SP state number per unit area for coupling with the QW. Although the SP coupling strength through LSP on the surface Ag NPs is weakly dependent on PL excitation power, that through SPP at the smooth Ag-film/GaN interface increases significantly with PL excitation power. Such different behavior is due to the abundant SPP states available for coupling with the QW of a higher carrier density. It can also be attributed to the spectral blueshift of QW emission through the screening of the quantum-confined Stark effect and the band filling effect for QW coupling with SPP of a higher density of state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let G be a connected reductive algebraic group over an algebraically closed field of prime characteristic p and 픤 be the Lie algebra of G. In this paper, we study the representations of 픤 when p-character has standard Levi form. An Ext-transfer from the Ext-groups of induced 픤-modules to its Levi subalgebras is obtained. Furthermore, we reduce the computation of the multiplicities of simple factors in baby Verma modules over 픤 to its Levi subalgebras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enhanced surface plasmon (SP) coupling effects in a blue light-emitting diode (LED) with regularly patterned (REG) surface Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on a dielectric interlayer (DI) of a lower refractive index overgrown on p-GaN are demonstrated. Without a DI, the surface Ag NPs-induced SP coupling with the quantum wells (QWs) in the LED can lead to the increases of internal quantum efficiency and LED output intensity, the reduction of the external quantum efficiency droop effect, and the enhancement of modulation response. By adding a DI, the SP coupling effect is enhanced, resulting in the further improvements of all the aforementioned factors. We compare the SP coupling effects in the LEDs with REG Ag NPs on DIs to those of randomly distributed (RAN) Ag NPs previously reported. Although the variation trends of the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance peaks and hence the SP coupling behaviors of REG and RAN Ag NPs are similar, their LSP resonance strengths at the QW emission wavelength are different due to their different spectral patterns of LSP resonance. In other words, although the REG Ag NPs can produce stronger collective LSP resonance with a narrower spectral width, the SP coupling effect depends mainly on the LSP resonance strength at the QW emission wavelength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling behaviors of a radiating dipole with localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance modes induced on an Ag protrusion in a GaN layer are numerically studied with an algorithm including the feedback effect of LSP resonance to modify the emission behavior of the radiating dipole. Two spectral ranges (400-570 and 570-800 nm) of radiated power enhancement can be observed. The radiated power enhancement in the long-wavelength (short-wavelength) range is generated through the coupling of the radiating dipole with the dipole and quadrupole (higher-order) LSP resonance modes induced on the protrusion. Because the LSP electromagnetic fields of those higher-order modes are mainly distributed around the tip of the protrusion, which is close to the radiating dipole, the radiated power enhancement is quite effective in the blue-green range even though the corresponding metal absorption can be higher than that of a lower-order LSP mode. Compared with the configurations of surface metal nanoparticle (NP) and embedded metal NP, the protrusion structure has the advantages of relatively higher radiated power enhancement in the blue-green spectral range and relatively lower fabrication cost from a practical application viewpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Simple modules for restricted Lie superalgebras are studied. The indecom-posability of baby Kac modules and baby Verma modules is proved in some situation. In particular, for the classical Lie superalgebra of type A( n|0), the baby Verma modules Z( λ) are proved to be simple for any regular nilpotent p-character χ and typical weight λ. Moreover, we obtain the dimension formulas for projective covers of simple modules with p-characters of standard Levi form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let $${\mathfrak{g}=W_1}$$ be the p-dimensional Witt algebra over an algebraically closed field $${k=\overline{\mathbb{F}}_q}$$ , where p > 3 is a prime and q is a power of p. Let G be the automorphism group of $${\mathfrak{g}}$$ . The Frobenius morphism F (resp. $${F_\mathfrak{g}}$$ ) can be defined naturally on G (resp. $${\mathfrak{g}}$$ ). In this paper, we determine the $${F_\mathfrak{g}}$$ -stable G-orbits in $${\mathfrak{g}}$$ . Furthermore, the number of $${\mathbb{F}_q}$$ -rational points in each $${F_\mathfrak{g}}$$ -stable orbit is precisely given. Consequently, we obtain the number of $${\mathbb{F}_q}$$ -rational points in the nilpotent variety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let $$\mathfrak{g }=\mathfrak{s }\mathfrak{l }(1|n+1)$$ be the classical Lie superalgebra of type $$A(0,n)$$ over an algebraically closed field of prime characteristic $$p>2$$. A sufficient condition is provided for baby Kac $$\mathfrak{g }$$-modules to be simple. Moreover, simple $$\mathfrak{g }$$-modules with (quasi) regular semisimple characters are classified. In particular, up to isomorphism, all the simple modules for $$\mathfrak{s }\mathfrak{l }(1|2)$$ are determined, and representatives and dimensions of simples are precisely given. As an application, simple modules for the general linear Lie superalgebra $$\mathfrak{g }\mathfrak{l }(1|n+1)$$ with certain $$p$$-characters are classified. In particular, a complete classification of simple $$\mathfrak{g }\mathfrak{l }(1|2)$$-modules is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let F be an algebraically closed field of prime characteristic p > 2, H( n) the Hamiltonian Lie superalgebra over F. The simple restricted H( n)-modules are studied and classified. Furthermore, a sufficient and necessary condition is provided for restricted Kac modules to be simple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare postoperative outcomes of full-bed deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) with penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in treating keratoconus. Methods: Seventy-five eyes of 64 patients who received full-bed DALK and 52 eyes of 51 patients who received PK between June 2000 and August 2010 were included in this retrospective study. Full-bed DALK was performed using Yao's hooking-detaching technique. PK was performed using a standard technique. Intraoperative and postoperative complications, visual acuity, rejection, graft survival, endothelial cell density, corneal sensation recovery, and re-innervation were compared between the two groups. Results: A best correct visual acuity of 0.5 or better was achieved in 90.7% of eyes after full-bed DALK and in 92.3% of eyes after PK ( P=0.75). By the fifth postoperative year, graft endothelial cell loss reached 34.6% in the PK group vs. 13.9% in the full-bed DALK group ( P<0.001). There were no statistical differences in corneal sensitivity recovery or corneal re-innervation between the groups ( P>0.05). Intraoperative microperforation occurred in seven out of 75 (9.3%) eyes with a temporally postoperative double anterior chamber in two eyes in the full-bed DALK group. Postoperative complications in the PK vs. the full-bed DALK groups respectively were: rejection (7.7% vs. 0%, P=0.015), high intraocular pressure (IOP) (46.2% vs. 1.3%, P<0.001), secondary glaucoma (9.6% vs. 0%, P=0.006), complicated cataract (19.2% vs. 0%, P<0.001), and wound dehiscence (9.6% vs. 0%, P=0.006). Conclusions: Both full-bed DALK and PK can offer long-term satisfactory visual outcomes for keratoconus. Graft rejection, secondary glaucoma, complicated cataracts, and constant endothelial cell loss were observed in eyes only after PK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let F be an algebraically closed field of prime characteristic p > 2, and let $${\mathfrak{g}=\bar{S}(m, n, {\bf 1})}$$ be the extended special type Lie superalgebra over F. Simple restricted $${\mathfrak{g}}$$ -modules are classified. Moreover, a sufficient and necessary condition is provided for restricted baby Kac modules to be simple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of primary iris and/or ciliary body cysts in eyes with shallow anterior chamber and their effect on the narrowing of the anterior chamber angle. Methods: Among the general physical check-up population, subjects with shallow anterior chambers, as judged by van Herick technique, were recruited for further investigation. Ultrasound biomicroscope (UBM) was used to detect and measure the cysts located in the iris and/or ciliary body, the anterior chamber depth (ACD), the angle opening distance at 500 μm (AOD500), and the trabecular-iris angle (TIA). A-scan ultrasonography was used to measure the ocular biometry, including lens thickness, axial length, lens/axial length factor (LAF), and relative lens position (RLP). The effect of the cyst on narrowing the corresponding anterior chamber angle and the entire angle was evaluated by the UBM images, ocular biometry, and gonioscopic grading. The eye with unilateral cyst was compared with the eye without the cyst for further analysis. Results: Among the 727 subjects with shallow anterior chamber, primary iris and ciliary body cysts were detected in 250 (34.4%) patients; among them 96 (38.4%) patients showed unilateral single cyst, 21 (8.4%) patients had unilateral double cysts, and 42 (16.8%) patients manifested unilateral multiple and multi-quadrants cysts. Plateau iris configuration was found in 140 of 361 (38.8%) eyes with cysts. The mean size of total cysts was (0.6547±0.2319) mm. In evaluation of the effect of the cyst size and location on narrowing the corresponding angle to their position, the proportion of the cysts causing corresponding angle narrowing or closure among the cysts larger than 0.8 mm (113/121, 93.4%) was found to be significantly higher than that of the cysts smaller than 0.8 mm (373/801, 46.6%), and a significant higher proportion was also found in the cysts located at iridociliary sulcus (354/437, 81.0%) than in that at the pars plicata (131/484, 27.1%). In evaluating the effect of the cyst on the entire anterior chamber angle, the eyes with multiple and multi-quadrants cysts manifested significant narrowing of the entire anterior chamber angle as compared with the eyes without cysts, based on the data analysis in comparison of TIA, AOD500, and gonioscopic grading evaluation. The unilateral single or double cysts in the eyes had no significant effect on narrowing of anterior chamber angle as compared with eyes without cysts. The iris and/or ciliary body cysts did not seem to affect the axial length, ACD, lens thickness, RLP, LAF. Conclusions: The prevalence of primary iris and ciliary body cyst was 34.4% in the subjects with shallow anterior chamber. The cysts larger than 0.8 mm, locating at iridociliary sulcus, or multiple and extensive cysts were inclined to cause the angle narrowing or closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate gene mutations associated with three different types of corneal dystrophies (CDs), and to establish a phenotype-genotype correlation. Methods: Two patients with Avellino corneal dystrophy (ACD), four patients with lattice corneal dystrophy type I (LCD I) from one family, and three patients with macular corneal dystrophy type I (MCD I) were subjected to both clinical and genetic examinations. Slit lamp examination was performed for all the subjects to assess their corneal phenotypes. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes. The coding regions of the human transforming growth factor β-induced ( TGFBI) gene and carbohydrate sulfotransferase 6 ( CHST6) gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subjected to direct sequencing. DNA samples from 50 healthy volunteers were used as controls. Results: Clinical examination showed three different phenotypes of CDs. Genetic examination identified that two ACD subjects were associated with homozygous R124H mutation of TGFBI, and four LCD I subjects were all associated with R124C heterozygous mutation. One MCD I subject was associated with a novel S51X homozygous mutation in CHST6, while the other two MCD I subjects harbored a previously reported W232X homozygous mutation. Conclusions: Our study highlights the prevalence of codon 124 mutations in the TGFBI gene among the Chinese ACD and LCD I patients. Moreover, we found a novel mutation among MCD I patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

study of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genetic characteristics in the Zhuang, the largest ethnic population in China, would provide insight into Zhuang history and give a useful tool for disease associations, transplantation, and anthropology. In the present study, we report the comprehensive HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-DRB1 alleles and haplotypes in the Zhuang population of southern China for the first time. A total of 13 HLA-A, 24 HLA-B, 22 HLA-C, and 18 HLA-DRB1 were identified in 104 Zhuang individuals. The frequencies of HLA-A*11:01, A*02:07, A*24:02, A*02:03, and A*33:03 on A loci, B*15:02, B*58:01, B*46:01, and B*13:01 on B loci, C*03:04, C*08:01, C*01:02, C*03:02, and C*07:02 on C loci, and DRB1*15:01, DRB1*16:02, DRB1*14:01, DRB1*15:02, and DRB1*03:01 on the DRB1 loci were S>10%. The A*33:03-C*03:02-B*58:01-DRB1*03:01 and A*02:07-C*01:02-B*46:01-DRB1*14:01 haplotypes were predominant in the Zhuang. The phylogenetic tree, as well as the analysis of haplotypes, suggested that the Zhuang are genetically similar to southern Chinese populations, especially the Zhuang-Dong language-speaking populations, such as the Bouyei, Dai, and Maonan. Even though the Zhuang and southern Chinese populations shared common alleles and haplotypes, the Zhuang has maintained its unique genetic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-functional high-frequency seismometer, a new instrumental system, is used for recording multi-point strain variations of rock samples in the process of fracture development. The results indicate that strain in each point appears burst disturbance synchronously besides a tendency variation before main fracture. The burst disturbance could probably be one of the short-impending precursors before great earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A surface Ag nano-network pattern is formed by first depositing Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on a conductive template, which has a certain defect structure, and then illuminating the Ag NPs with ultraviolet (UV) light in a moist environment. Such an Ag nano-network pattern consists of multiple connected Brownian trees (BTs), which are produced through the diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) process. In the DLA process, diffuse Ag+ ions, which are generated by UV light illumination and dissolved by a thin adsorbed water layer on the surfaces of the Ag NPs and used GaN template, settle to form a BT through the combination with excited hot electrons migrating into the template from the Ag NPs. The lateral transport of hot electrons in the template is regulated by the distributions of threading dislocation and point defect cluster in the template, which eventually become the centers of BTs. The structure of a surface Ag nano-network can potentially serve as a transparent conductor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Background: We treated two patients with dendritic keratitis that did not respond to acyclovir (ACV) ointment therapy. Their systemic immune status was normal; however, one patient had a long history of atopic disease and the other had previously undergone topical corticosteroid treatment. HSV-1 was isolated from the patients and inoculated into animals to investigate its viral pathogenicity and latent infection. • Methods: HSV-1 isolates from the patients were tested for drug sensitivity to acyclovir, ganciclovir, idoxuridine, trifluridine, foscarnet and interferon-β in vitro. In in vivo studies, bilateral corneas of two New Zealand white rabbits and 10 BALB/c mice in each of four groups were infected by the respective viral isolates. The extent of corneal epithelial and/or stromal lesions produced by the viruses was evaluated. The trigeminal ganglial tissues of the mice were examined for viral latent infection by co-culture with Vero cells. • Results: Herpetic keratitis in both patients was characterized by prolonged clinical course, succeeded by various types of corneal lesions and ocular complications. In in vitro studies, the two HSV-1 isolates demonstrated cross-resistance to ACV, ganciclovir and/or idoxuridine. Both strains demonstrated weakly virulent corneal epithelial and/or stromal lesions in rabbits and mice. One isolate displayed delayed advent but prolonged course of epithelial lesions in rabbits. The latent infection incidences of the isolates in mice trigeminal ganglia were 6.25% (1/16) and 0% (0/18) respectively. • Conclusion: Topical immune depression may induce ACV-resistant HSV-1 infection in the cornea, with a prolonged course in association with ocular complications. The prolonged infectious course of the viral isolates in the animal study partially supported the clinical demonstrations in the patient. The existence of latent infection by one ACV-resistant HSV-1 in its animals may indicate the possibility of its recurrence. Trifluridine may be an alternative choice for treating corneal epithelial lesions caused by ACV-resistant HSV-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]