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This article describes a dataset that is related to the research paper “Connexin hemichannels regulate redox potential via metabolite exchange and protect lens against cellular oxidative damage”. Growing evidence demonstrates that oxidative stress is a key event in cataract formation. Hemichannels (HCs) formed by Connexin (Cx) 43, a Cx subtype only present in the epithelium of lens tissue, mediate the exchange of small molecules between the intracellular and extracellular environments, including redox-related metabolic molecules, such as glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we used a Cx43 heterozygous mouse model, Cx43E2 antibody (a specific Cx43 HC blocker), and knocked down Cx43 expression by siRNA in human lens epithelial HLE-B3 cells to assess the oxidative response of Cx43 HCs to H2O2 and UVB radiation. Western blot analysis of heterozygous Cx43-null (Cx43+/−) mouse lenses showed the haploinsufficiency of Cx43 protein. We further assessed anti-oxidative gene expression in response to H2O2 and UVB radiation treatment in the Cx43-deficient lens epithelial cells. This dataset will be useful for understanding the critical role of Cx43 HCs in maintaining redox homeostasis in the lens under oxidative stress.

The important role of osteoclast-derived exosomes in bone remodeling of microgravity-induced osteoporosis has been validated. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. A set of total miRNAs expressed in osteoclast-derived exosomes may configure the specific signature of the bone tissue in the microgravity condition. This study aimed to investigate the miRNA expression profile of osteoclast-derived exosomes in simulated microgravity using next-generation sequencing. Cell culture supernatant of osteoclasts under normal gravity conditions and simulated microgravity conditions were harvested for the extraction of exosomes and exosomal miRNAs. Our results revealed that 116 aberrantly expressed exosomal miRNAs including 29 up-regulated miRNAs and 87 down-regulated miRNAs were found in the simulated microgravity group compared to the normal gravity control group. The candidate target genes and signaling pathways of 15 selected differentially expressed miRNAs were identified via target genes prediction, GO and KEGG analyses. Furthermore, miRNA qPCR assay was performed to validate the RNA sequencing results. Collectively, these analyses provide insight regarding the effects of microgravity in modulating the extracellular miRNA profile through exosomes released from osteoclasts. The selective packaging of miRNA cargo in exosomes under microgravity could facilitate the development of promising and effective targets for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of microgravity-induced osteoporosis.

Resolution including range resolution and azimuth resolution, is a key factor to evaluate the performance of synthetic aperture sonar(SAS). For bi-static SAS(bi-SAS), the physical positional separation of transmitter and receiver makes the resolution very different from mono-static SAS(mono-SAS). At first, there is little relevant research on the property of bi-SAS's two-resolution. As the existing ambiguity function method is not benefit for numerical calculation, this paper works this problem out utilizing a gradient vector method whose basis is to use the gradient of distance contour or Doppler frequency contour to calculate the two-dimensional resolution. Then this method is applied to a certain bi-static configuration and the mono-static configuration, respectively. The results prove the effectivity of the method and demonstrate the obvious space-variant property of two-dimensional resolution in bi-SAS. For a SAS system, it is a fact that there is more than one echo path with the same time-delay at any receipt time. This phenomenon can be regarded as a multipath problem, which may bring false target some times. Especially when the receiver is at a position able to receive the forward-scattering echo, multipath in range direction will occur to the system, which brings about ghost-point. This problem has hardly ever been theoretically analyzed, because it has little influence on final imaging result in practical application. This paper theoretically deduced the relationship between ghost-point position and configuration parameters of bi-SAS. Finally, we demonstrated that ghost-point position is related to height of sonar, and it basically can be inhibited by synthetic aperture processing under certain circumstances.

Degrees of Lenticular Opacification Determined by Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCSIII). Table S2. Top 8 Populated Gene Ontology Terms of the Biological Process Category. Table S3. Selected Oxidative Stress Related Genes (DOCX 23 kb)

Objective Regular follow-up is essential to successful management of childhood cataract. We sought to assess whether a mobile phone short message service (SMS) for parents of children with cataract could improve follow-up adherence and the proportion of procedures performed in timely fashion. Design Randomized, controlled trial. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01417819. Participants We included 258 parent–child pairs involved in the Childhood Cataract Program of the Chinese Ministry of Health. Methods Participants were randomized (1:1) to a mobile phone SMS intervention or standard follow-up appointments. All participants were scheduled to attend ≥4 follow-up appointments according to the protocol. Parents in the intervention group received SMS automated reminders before scheduled appointments. The control group parents did not receive SMSs or any alternative reminder of scheduled appointments. Regular ocular examinations and analyses were performed by investigators masked to group allocation; however, study participants and the manager in charge of randomization and sending SMSs were not masked. Main Outcome Measures Number of follow-up appointments attended, additional surgeries, laser treatments, changes in eyeglasses prescription, and occurrence of secondary ocular hypertension. Results Among parent–child participants, 135 were randomly assigned to the SMS intervention and 123 to standard appointments. Attendance rates for the SMS group (first visit, 97.8%; second, 91.9%; third, 92.6%; fourth, 83%) were significantly higher than those for the control group (first visit, 87.8%; second, 69.9%; third, 56.9%; fourth, 33.3%). The increase in attendance rate for total number of follow-up visits with SMS reminders was 47.2% (relative risk [RR] for attendance, 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–1.78; P = 0.003). The number needed to remind (NNR) to gain 1 additional visit by 1 child was 3 (95% CI, 1.8–4.2). A total of 247 clinical interventions were carried out in the SMS group and 134 in the control group (RR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.37–1.99; P = 0.007). The NNR to result in 1 additional clinical intervention was 5 (95% CI, 3.5–6.5). Conclusions The SMS reminders significantly improved follow-up adherence in pediatric cataract treatment. Using readily available mobile phone resources may be an effective and economic strategy to improve management of childhood cataract in China. Financial Disclosure(s) The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any of the materials discussed in this article.

PURPOSE. Age-related cataracts are considered to be a pathological condition that arise as senescence progresses. However, little is known about the function of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the formation of age-related cataracts. The purpose of this study was to identify possible differences in miRNA expression in the central epithelium of transparent and age-related cataractous human lenses. METHODS. Microarrays were used to determine the miRNA expression profiles of both transparent and cataractous lenses. The results were analyzed by significance analyses performed by the microarray software, and the results were confirmed by stem-loop RT-PCR. Algorithms were used to predict the target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs. RESULTS. Two hundred and six miRNAs were identified in all human lenses. The top eight miRNAs according to expression levels were miR-184, let-7b, miR-923, miR-1826, miR-125b, miR-1308, miR-26a, and miR-638 in transparent lenses. In contrast, the top eight miRNAs in cataractous lenses were miR184, miR-1826, let-7b/c, miR-24, miR-23b, miR-923, and miR23a. The expression levels of 20 miRNAs were increased and the levels of 12 miRNAs were decreased by more than 2-fold in transparent lenses relative to the levels in cataractous lenses. These findings were confirmed by stem-loop RT-PCR. In addition, several genes that were predicted to be targets of the identified miRNAs have been reported to be involved in lens development or cataract formation. CONCLUSIONS. The authors report, for the first time, the distinct expression profiles of miRNAs in the central epithelium of transparent and age-related cataractous human lenses. Significant differences in miRNA expression were identified, and the genes targeted by the relevant miRNAs were predicted. The differential expression of miRNAs suggests that these miRNAs have potential roles in lens development and/or cataract formation. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012;53:3906‐3912)

Regular follow-up is essential to successful management of childhood cataract. We sought to assess whether a mobile phone short message service (SMS) for parents of children with cataract could improve follow-up adherence and the proportion of procedures performed in timely fashion.Randomized, controlled trial. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01417819.We included 258 parent-child pairs involved in the Childhood Cataract Program of the Chinese Ministry of Health.Participants were randomized (1:1) to a mobile phone SMS intervention or standard follow-up appointments. All participants were scheduled to attend ≥ 4 follow-up appointments according to the protocol. Parents in the intervention group received SMS automated reminders before scheduled appointments. The control group parents did not receive SMSs or any alternative reminder of scheduled appointments. Regular ocular examinations and analyses were performed by investigators masked to group allocation; however, study participants and the manager in charge of randomization and sending SMSs were not masked.Number of follow-up appointments attended, additional surgeries, laser treatments, changes in eyeglasses prescription, and occurrence of secondary ocular hypertension.Among parent-child participants, 135 were randomly assigned to the SMS intervention and 123 to standard appointments. Attendance rates for the SMS group (first visit, 97.8%; second, 91.9%; third, 92.6%; fourth, 83%) were significantly higher than those for the control group (first visit, 87.8%; second, 69.9%; third, 56.9%; fourth, 33.3%). The increase in attendance rate for total number of follow-up visits with SMS reminders was 47.2% (relative risk [RR] for attendance, 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-1.78; P = 0.003). The number needed to remind (NNR) to gain 1 additional visit by 1 child was 3 (95% CI, 1.8-4.2). A total of 247 clinical interventions were carried out in the SMS group and 134 in the control group (RR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.37-1.99; P = 0.007). The NNR to result in 1 additional clinical intervention was 5 (95% CI, 3.5-6.5).The SMS reminders significantly improved follow-up adherence in pediatric cataract treatment. Using readily available mobile phone resources may be an effective and economic strategy to improve management of childhood cataract in China.The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any of the materials discussed in this article.

Purpose This research was conducted to make a primary culture of human retinal capillary endothelial cells (HRCEC) and to study the cytotoxic effect of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (envelope) glycoprotein 120 (HIV-1 gp120) on cultured HRCEC. Methods HRCEC were isolated and primarily cultured as dissociated single cell cultures. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to identify specific markers of HRCEC and to reveal HIV-1 gp120 related receptors (cluster of differentiation 4 [CD4], C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 [CXCR4], and C-C chemokine receptor type 5 [CCR5]). The 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to demonstrate the effect of HIV-1 gp120 on cell viability at seven different concentrations (0.01–0.15 mg/l) for 24 h or at a fixed concentration of 0.08 mg/l for varying time intervals (4–72 h). After 0.08, 0.1, 0.12, and 0.15 mg/l HIV-1 gp120 were applied to HRCEC for 24 h, cell apoptotic rates and the mitochondrial membrane potential were measured with flow cytometry; pro-caspase-9 and cleaved caspase-9 were evaluated with immunoblotting. Under each research condition, 0.15 mg/l of HIV-1 gp120 mutated proteins (423 I/P) were used as controls. Results Primary cultures of pure HRCEC were established, and the cells were characterized with their specific markers. HIV-1 gp120 receptors CXCR4 and CCR5 were found on the cell surface of HRCEC; however, CD4 was negative. Treatment of HRCEC with HIV-1 gp120 at concentrations