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Mammals have limited capacity for heart regeneration, whereas zebrafish have extraordinary regeneration abilities. During zebrafish heart regeneration, endothelial cells promote cardiomyocyte cell cycle reentry and myocardial repair, but the mechanisms responsible for promoting an injury microenvironment conducive to regeneration remain incompletely defined. Here, we identify the matrix metalloproteinase Mmp14b as an essential regulator of heart regeneration. We identify a TEAD-dependent mmp14b endothelial enhancer induced by heart injury in zebrafish and mice, and we show that the enhancer is required for regeneration, supporting a role for Hippo signaling upstream of mmp14b. Last, we show that MMP-14 function in mice is important for the accumulation of Agrin, an essential regulator of neonatal mouse heart regeneration. These findings reveal mechanisms for extracellular matrix remodeling that promote heart regeneration.

Myopia is a common ophthalmic disease that endangers the health of eyes all over the world. The incidence rate of myopia is high in China. Myopia has become the most prominent problem affecting the health of young people's eyes. Myopia prevention and control work has become urgent. Periretinal hyperopia defocusing is one of the main causes of myopia, and the defocusing soft lenses involved based on this principle have played a good role in myopia prevention and control. This article summarizes the working principle of defocusing soft lenses for controlling myopia and its impact on corneal and visual function, and evaluates the prevention and control effect of defocusing soft lenses on myopia based on current research.

[Objective] Accelerating the construction of a unified market is an important driving force for the implementation of the ecological protection and high-quality development strategy of the Yellow River Basin, and the impact and mechanism of market integration on the high-quality economic development of the Yellow River Basin can provide theoretical support and policy reference for the high-quality economic development of the Yellow River Basin. [Methods] The panel data of 69 prefecture-level cities flowing through the Yellow River Basin from 2011 to 2020 were selected as samples, and the impact of market integration on the high-quality development of regional economy and its mechanism and heterogeneity were explored by using the two-way fixed effect model, the intermediary model and the threshold model. [Results] (1) Market integration can significantly promote the high-quality economic development of the Yellow River Basin, and the high-quality economic development level of the Yellow River Basin can be increased by 0.579 units for every 1 unit increase in the degree of market integration. (2) Improving infrastructure, factor flow, and upgrading industrial structure are important mechanisms for market integration to promote high-quality economic development in the Yellow River Basin region. (3) There is a significant single threshold effect of economic agglomeration, and when the degree of economic agglomeration exceeds the threshold value of 0.020, the role of market integration in promoting the high-quality economic development of the Yellow River Basin is reduced. (4) There is regional heterogeneity in the promotion of market integration on the high-quality economic development of the Yellow River Basin, and the market integration of small and medium-sized cities has a stronger role in promoting the high-quality economic development, while the market integration of megacities inhibits its high-quality economic development. [Conclusion] It is necessary to accelerate the construction of market integration in the Yellow River Basin, improve the infrastructure in the basin, smooth the flow of factors, promote the upgrading of industrial structure, reasonably control the size of cities and the degree of economic agglomeration, and give full play to the high-quality dividend effect of market integration with the help of policies and local conditions.

AIM: To study the early outcomes of anterior segment parameters after implantation of an implantable collamer lens with a central hole(ICL V4c)in patients with high myopia.METHODS:A total of 82 cases(160 eyes)with high myopia, including 42 males(82 eyes)and 40 females(78 eyes), aged 26.0±4.6(21 to 37)years, who underwent ICL V4c implantation at our institution from February 2019 to September 2022 and were followed up for 1 a, were included. The general characteristics of the anterior segment of the eye were measured preoperatively: spherical equivalent, mean horizontal corneal curvature, white-to-white(WTW), and axial length(AL); intraocular pressure(IOP), endothelial cell density(ECD), central anterior chamber depth(CACD), anterior chamber volume(ACV)and anterior chamber angle(ACA)were measured preoperatively and at 1 d, 1 wk, 1, 3 and 6 mo postoperatively. Furthermore, the distance from the centre of the posterior surface of the ICL V4c optical zone to the anterior surface of the lens(vault)was measured at 1 d, 1 wk, 1, 6 mo, and 1 a after surgery.RESULTS: The mean preoperative spherical equivalent of the patients was -7.56±2.55 D, mean horizontal corneal curvature was 42.89±1.47 D, WTW was 11.64±0.37 mm, and AL was 26.64±0.93 mm. The baseline IOP was 15.97±2.13 mmHg, and the differences in IOP at each time point after ICL V4c implantation compared to preoperative were not statistically significant(F=0.875, P=0.504); ECD was 2 989.30±140.78 cells/mm2 at baseline, and ECD at 6 mo after ICL V4c implantation was not statistically significant compared with preoperative ECD(t=1.475, P=0.142); CACD was 3.19±0.21 mm at baseline, and ACV was 210.30±27.7 mm3, and CACD and ACV were significantly lower than preoperative at all postoperative time points(F=111.10, 288.38, all P0.05).CONCLUSION: ICL V4c has certain safety and efficiency in 1 a postoperative follow-up, and the parameters of the anterior segment of the eye stabilized in the early period.

Mechanosensory neurons that innervate the tongue provide essential information to guide feeding, speech, and social grooming. We use in vivo calcium imaging of mouse trigeminal ganglion neurons to identify functional groups of mechanosensory neurons innervating the anterior tongue. These sensory neurons respond to thermal and mechanical stimulation. Analysis of neuronal activity patterns reveal that most mechanosensory trigeminal neurons are tuned to detect moving stimuli across the tongue. Using an unbiased, multilayer hierarchical clustering approach to classify pressure-evoked activity based on temporal response dynamics, we identify five functional classes of mechanosensory neurons with distinct force-response relations and adaptation profiles. These populations are tuned to detect different features of touch. Molecular markers of functionally distinct clusters are identified by analyzing cluster representation in genetically marked neuronal subsets. Collectively, these studies provide a platform for defining the contributions of functionally distinct mechanosensory neurons to oral behaviors crucial for survival in mammals.

The composition of the vaginal microbiota prior to an IVF/IVF-ICSI treatment can predict the chance of achieving a pregnancy. To improve clinical applicability and be more patient-friendly, the self-collection of vaginal samples would be preferable. However, the reliability of patient-collected samples compared to physician-collected samples remains unclear. This study compares microbiome outcomes from patient-collected versus physician-collected vaginal samples. This is a prospective pilot study consisting of two cohorts: Cohort I involved patient self-sampling of the vagina, followed by a physician-collected vaginal swab, while Cohort II involved the reversed order of collection. The interspace profiling (IS-Pro) technique was used to analyze the microbiota composition in all samples. From May 2021 to March 2022, a total of 444 samples were collected from n = 222 patients (aged 21–44 years), with Cohort I (n = 109) and Cohort II (n = 113). The vaginal microbiome composition of both cohorts was highly similar, regardless of the sampling order, with a mean cosine similarity of 0.93 (95% CI 0.91, 0.95) in Cohort I and 0.94 (95% CI 0.92, 0.96) in Cohort II. Furthermore, ANOVA analysis revealed no significant differences in bacterial species abundance between physician- and patient-collected samples, nor between first and second sample collections. The self-collection of vaginal samples can be considered comparable to physician-collected samples and indicates a more patient-friendly and convenient collection of the vaginal microbiome in an outpatient clinical setting.