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Purpose: To determine the causes of visual impairment (VI) and blindness among children in schools for the blind in Myanmar; to identify the avoidable causes of VI and blindness; to provide spectacles, low-vision aids, and ophthalmic treatment where indicated; to provide an update of the 2007 survey performed and identify any major epidemiological changes. Methods: Two hundred and ninety children under 16 years of age from all eight schools for the blind in Myanmar were examined and the data entered into the World Health Organization Prevention of Blindness Examination Record for Childhood Blindness. Results: In total, 271 children (93.4%) were blind (visual acuity [VA]

Glutathione (GSH) is a natural antioxidant that helps fight free radicals. Whether it will affect the activity of amylase and starch digestion remains unknown. This research disclosed that GSH could interact with starch through hydrogen bonds, which accelerated the swelling of starch granules and promoted the formation of ordered double-helix crystalline, and therefore inhibited starch digestion. Moreover, pig pancreas α-amylase (PPA) which was incubated with GSH displayed a less stable conformation and decreased activity. However, in a crowded media constructed by sodium caseinate (NaCas), an antagonistic effect existed between GSH and NaCas. As the rate and extent of starch digestion have been linked with health aspects, this study suggests that GSH can be used in the formulation of diet foods. It also reminds us to consider the synergistic or antagonistic effects caused by the coexisted components in the complexed food matrix.

Aiming at the problem of low flexibility and poor scalability of Non-Dispersive InfraRed method CO2 concentration detection equipment, a CO2 concentration detection platform based on Zynq series SoC is designed. The platform adopts the idea of hardware-software co-design, which integrates the functions of signal acquisition, time domain filtering, mode control, and data integration, simplifying the hardware design and improving the functional scalability of the system. The platform completes the automatic calibration and temperature compensation and realizes the accurate real-time calculation of CO2 gas concentration. The detection error can be controlled within ±78 ppm in the temperature variation range of 10–60 °C and the measurement range of 0–5000 ppm. The platform is designed with high flexibility, good detection stability, small detection error, little influence by temperature, and strong scalability. It can be organically combined with artificial intelligence, intelligent sensing, and other technologies and has good application prospects.

To report the outcomes of eyes receiving surgical management for traumatic macular holes. To describe the preoperative and postoperative optical coherence tomography features of traumatic macular holes and to explore associations between preoperative clinical and optical coherence tomography features, and visual outcome.Retrospective study of patients undergoing vitrectomy for traumatic macular hole and entered into the Australian and New Zealand Society of Retinal Specialists surgical registry. Preoperative clinical data, surgical details, and 3-month postoperative outcomes were recorded prospectively. Longer-term outcomes at 12 months were requested retrospectively, as were preoperative and postoperative optical coherence tomography scans.Hole closure was achieved in 91% (21/23) of patients with a single procedure. The average preoperative visual acuity was 20/120. At 3 months postoperatively, the mean visual acuity had improved to 20/70 (P0.001), 11/23 (48%) of eyes improved ≥15 letters, and the number of eyes with 20/40 acuity or better increased from 1/23 to 7/23. Eyes with worse visual outcomes (visual acuity20/80) had larger holes, worse preoperative acuity, and a greater extent of preoperative ellipsoid band attenuation than those with better postoperative visual acuity.Eyes receiving surgical management for traumatic macular hole achieved good anatomical results and approximately half had a substantial improvement in acuity. Ellipsoid band attenuation on preoperative optical coherence tomography and worse preoperative acuity were associated with poorer visual outcomes.

BackgroundThe rumen is the hallmark organ of ruminants, playing a vital role in their nutrition and providing products for humans. In newborn suckling ruminants milk bypasses the rumen, while in adults this first chamber of the forestomach has developed to become the principal site of microbial fermentation of plant fibers. With the advent of single-cell transcriptomics, it is now possible to study the underlying cell composition of rumen tissues and investigate how this relates the development of mutualistic symbiosis between the rumen and its epithelium-attached microbes.ResultsWe constructed a comprehensive cell landscape of the rumen epithelium, based on single-cell RNA sequencing of 49,689 high-quality single cells from newborn and adult rumen tissues. Our single-cell analysis identified six immune cell subtypes and seventeen non-immune cell subtypes of the rumen. On performing cross-species analysis of orthologous genes expressed in epithelial cells of cattle rumen and the human stomach and skin, we observed that the species difference overrides any cross-species cell-type similarity. Comparing adult with newborn cattle samples, we found fewer epithelial cell subtypes and more abundant immune cells, dominated by T helper type 17 cells in the rumen tissue of adult cattle. In newborns, there were more fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, anIGFBP3+epithelial cell subtype not seen in adults, while dendritic cells were the most prevalent immune cell subtype. Metabolism-related functions and the oxidation-reduction process were significantly upregulated in adult rumen epithelial cells. Using 16S rDNA sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and absolute quantitative real-time PCR, we found that epithelialDesulfovibriowas significantly enriched in the adult cattle. Integrating the microbiome and metabolome analysis of rumen tissues revealed a high co-occurrence probability ofDesulfovibriowith pyridoxal in the adult cattle compared with newborn ones while the scRNA-seq data indicated a stronger ability of pyroxidal binding in the adult rumen epithelial cell subtypes. These findings indicate thatDesulfovibrioand pyridoxal likely play important roles in maintaining redox balance in the adult rumen.ConclusionsOur integrated multi-omics analysis provides novel insights into rumen development and function and may facilitate the future precision improvement of rumen function and milk/meat production in cattle.

In the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, important public health measures such as the utilization of face masks has been widely enforced, including community-wide mandatory face mask use. During this period, there have been observations of an increasing number of patients presenting with dry eye symptoms among regular mask users with no history of ocular surface pathology. Individuals have reported being aware of air blowing upward from the mask into their eyes that is likely to increase the evaporation of their tear film leading to ocular irritation. Although face mask use is essential in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to recognize the potential effects it may have on ocular health. We report a case of face mask-associated ocular complication. After an initial cornea abrasion from mask use, the patient developed recurrent corneal erosion syndrome that was complicated by microbial keratitis after the enforcement of mandatory mask use in public areas.

In order to reveal the impact of the application of biogas slurry instead of chemical nitrogen fertilizer on the environmental risk of heavy metals in the soil by returning straw to the field, four treatments, without biogas slurry and without straw applications (CK), biogas slurry application without straw (B), straw application without biogas slurry (S), and biogas slurry combined with straw applications (BS), were applied in a typical coastal reclaimed farmland (rice-wheat rotation) in Jiangsu province. The migration and morphological characteristics of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in different soil layers were observed, and the potential environmental risks were estimated. The results showed that:① The total amounts of Zn and Pb in the surface soils (0-20 cm) in the rice and wheat fields under the BS treatment decreased significantly (

We propose a density-near-zero piezoelectric metamaterial for realizing tunable sound transmission in real-time. The proposed mechanism is that the static voltage exerted on piezoelectric patches breaks the tension balance of the middle membrane, making the resonance frequency of the hybrid membrane structure dependence of static voltage. The numerical results verify the theoretical predictions and the effectiveness of the resulting device is demonstrated via multi-extraordinary phenomena at two predesigned frequencies. We anticipate our methodology to offer new possibilities for metamaterial-based piezoelectric devices and may promote applications in various fields such as acoustic communication.

In the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, important public health measures such as the utilization of face masks has been widely enforced, including community-wide mandatory face mask use. During this period, there have been observations of an increasing number of patients presenting with dry eye symptoms among regular mask users with no history of ocular surface pathology. Individuals have reported being aware of air blowing upward from the mask into their eyes that is likely to increase the evaporation of their tear film leading to ocular irritation. Although face mask use is essential in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to recognize the potential effects it may have on ocular health. We report a case of face mask-associated ocular complication. After an initial cornea abrasion from mask use, the patient developed recurrent corneal erosion syndrome that was complicated by microbial keratitis after the enforcement of mandatory mask use in public areas.

Objective Venous leg ulceration (VLU) is one of the complications of lower extremity venous reflux and reflux disorder of severe diseases, with many adverse effects on patient’s work and life. Nowadays, more and more patients with VLU accept wound care in community setting. Clinical nurses generally take care of the patients based on their own experiences. Healing in VLU is an incredibly complex process, which puzzles even experts. The majority of general nurses do not have this level of expertise, especially those nurses serving in community. Function is the basis of nursing activities. Patients always show different clinical manifestations and self-care abilities due to various function states, which cannot be reflected completely by the existing nursing practice. How to describe nursing practice standardized in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of interventions and facilitate interdisciplinary communication is another urgent problem. Therefore, the aim of this project is to develop an accurate nursing program based on function in chronic venous leg ulcers, which can both satisfy the needs of patients and promote nursing revolution. Methods This study will use International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health as a framework to choose suitable functions and to filter function classification standards of chronic venous leg ulcers through evidence-based systematic research. Nursing interventions related to VLU are selected based on Nursing Interventions Classification, adding other nursing activities by methods of evidence-based systematic review and clinical observation. Then, nursing interventions and function status are matched through steering committee. Finally, the Delphi survey method is adopted to make nursing program native and scientific. Conclusions This study is expected to be very significant and meaningful in using standardized nursing terminology. The nursing program established could better meet the needs of both patients with chronic venous leg ulcers and clinical nurses, promoting the development of wound specialist and standardized nursing language.

As a key component of various acoustic systems, acoustic beam splitter (BS) finds important application in many scenarios, yet are conventionally based on the assumption that the acoustic waves propagate as easily when incident from either input or output side. It would therefore be intriguing, from the viewpoints of both science and technology, to break through this limit by realizing acoustic BSs supporting asymmetric transmission. Here we propose the concept of one-way acoustic BS capable of splitting acoustic beam incident from the input port into multiple beams while effectively reducing the backward transmission from any of the output ports. Furthermore, our design enables flexibly adjusting the number and angle of output beams by blocking the unused line defects. The numerical results verify the theoretical predictions and demonstrate the phenomenon of one-way acoustic BS at the predesigned frequency. Our design with functionality and flexibility bridges the gap between acoustic diodes and BSs and may enable novel multi-functional devices with great application prospects in diverse fields such as acoustic integrated circuits and acoustic communication.

We present the synthesis of enantiomerically pure (

Purpose The ability to accurately quantify immunohistochemically labeled retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) on wholemounts is an important histopathological determinant in experimental retinal research. Traditionally, this has been performed by manual or semi-automated counting of RGCs. Here, we describe an automated software that accurately and efficiently counts immunolabeled RGCs with the ability to batch process images and perform whole-retinal analysis to permit isodensity map generation. Methods Retinal wholemounts from control rat eyes, and eyes subjected to either chronic ocular hypertension or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced excitotoxicity, were labeled by immunohistochemistry for two different RGC-specific markers, Brn3a and RNA-binding protein with multiple splicing (RBPMS). For feasibility of manual counting, images were sampled from predefined retinal sectors, totaling 160 images for Brn3a and 144 images for RBPMS. The automated program was initially calibrated for each antibody prior to batch analysis to ensure adequate cell capture. Blinded manual RGC counts were performed by three independent observers. Results The automated counts of RGCs labeled for Brn3a and RBPMS closely matched manual counts. The automated script accurately quantified both physiological and damaged retinas. Efficiency in counting labeled RGC wholemount images is accelerated 40-fold with the automated software. Whole-retinal analysis was demonstrated with integrated retinal isodensity map generation. Conclusions This automated cell counting software dramatically accelerates data acquisition while maintaining accurate RGC counts across different immunolabels, methods of injury, and spatial heterogeneity of RGC loss. This software likely has potential for wider application. Translational relevance This study provides a valuable tool for preclinical RGC neuroprotection studies that facilitates the translation of neuroprotection to the clinic.

To investigate the application value of Toshiba 320-row dynamic volumetric CT angiography in the diagnosis of venous erectile dysfunction (VED).We enrolled in this study 33 patients diagnosed with ED by audiovisual sexual stimulation screening in the outpatient department. Penile erection was induced in the patients by injection of 2 mg phentolamine plus 30 mg papaverine into the corpus cavernosum, followed by that of contrast agent of iobitridol through the vein and corpus cavernosum successively. Then 320-row dynamic volumetric CT angiography was performed and the images of the corpus cavernosum in the arterial and venous phases were collected and processed.Different degrees of abnormal venous drainage were observed in 29 of the patients, including 7 cases (24.1%) of back deep venous leakage, 6 cases (20.7%) of foot venous leakage, 3 cases (10.3%) of dorsal superficial venous leakage, 1 case (3.5%) of intervertebral venous leakage, 2 cases (6.9%) of cavernous venous leakage, and 10 cases (34.5%) of mixed venous leakage. Ten of the patients underwent surgery, dorsal deep penile vein ligation in 2 cases, dorsal deep vein embedding plus foot vein ligation in 4, and foot vein ligation in the other 4. Eight of the patients were followed up for 3－12 months post-operatively, during which 2 achieved obvious erectile improvement, while the other 6 gained normal penile erection.Toshiba 320-row dynamic volumetric CT angiography is a reliable method for the diagnosis of VED, which displays the precise location of venous leakage for clinical treatment, with the advantages of clearer images, lower doses of contrast agent and radiation, and faster examination than X-ray penile angiography.目的: 通过Toshiba320排动态容积CT动态成像技术，探讨320排CT对诊断静脉性勃起功能障碍(ED)的应用价值。方法： 门诊视听刺激检测仪筛查诊断为ED患者33例，阴茎海绵体局部注射酚妥拉明2 mg+罂粟碱30mg诱发勃起后，先后从静脉、阴茎海绵体注入碘比醇，分别作320排CT动态容积扫描采集动、静脉期阴茎海绵体图像，并进行图像后处理。结果： 33例患者中29例有不同程度的异常引流静脉，所显示的静脉漏分为背深静脉漏7例（24.1%）、脚静脉漏6例（20.7%）、背浅静脉漏3例（10.3%）、间静脉漏1例（3.5%）、海绵体静脉漏2例（6.9%）、混合静脉漏10例（34.5%）。10例患者选择手术治疗，行阴茎背深静脉结扎2例、阴茎背深静脉包埋+脚静脉结扎4例、阴茎脚静脉结扎4例。术后8例获3~12个月随访，2例勃起改善，6例勃起功能基本恢复正常。结论： 320排动态容积CT动态造影是诊断静脉性ED的可靠方法，可准确显示静脉漏的部位，指导临床治疗；相比于阴茎海绵体造影有更清晰的诊断图像、更少的放射剂量及对比剂量、更短的检查时间。.

The present study aims to investigate and compare the diagnostic and prognostic value of cavernosography with 320-row dynamic volume computed tomography (DVCT) versus conventional cavernosography in men with erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by venous leakage. A total of 174 patients diagnosed with ED were enrolled and received cavernosography with 320-row DVCT (DVCT group) and conventional cavernosography scans (control group) respectively. The diagnosis, complications, and prognosis of patients were evaluated. The DVCT group provided high-resolution images with less processing and testing time, as well as lowered radiological agent and contrast agent compared with the control group. In the DVCT group, 89 patients who were diagnosed with venous ED had six various venous leakage, namely superficial venous leakage, profundus venous leakage, the mixed type, cavernosal venous leakage, crural venous leakage, and also venous leakage between the penis and urethra cavernosum (9, 21, 32, 6, 18, and 3 cases respectively). Similarly, 74 patients out of the 81 who suffered from venous ED were classified to have superficial venous leakage (11), profundus venous leakage (14), the mixed type venous leakage (26), and middle venous leakage (23). Six out of 25 patients in the DVCT group, had improvements in ED while the remaining 19 achieved full erectile function recovery with no penile fibrosis and erectile pain. Cavernosography with 320-row DVCT is a reliable system that can be used to diagnose ED caused by venous leakage. This is especially useful in accurately determining the type of venous and allows for a better prognosis and direction of treatment.

The present study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of four-dimensional CT angiography (4D-CTA) in the diagnosis of arterial erectile dysfunction (ED) using 320-detector row dynamic volume CT. Arterial ED patients attributed to arterial insufficiency were enrolled. To induce penile erection, an intracavernous injection (ICI) of corpus cavernosum with a vasoactive drug was administered. Patients were assigned into the erection hardness score (EHS) 1/2 group or EHS 3/4 group. Color duplex Doppler ultrasound (CDDU) was used to analyze blood flow spectrum. Each patient was examined using 4D-CTA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic value of 4D-CTA in arterial ED. According to Irwin Goldstein, the EHS 3/4 group (n=38) had a shorter course of ED and low proportion with history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes than the EHS 1/2 group (n=35). The peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and resistant index (RI) in the EHS 3/4 group were lower than those of the EHS 1/2 group. 4D-CTA showed there were a total of 35 cases in the EHS 1/2 group (two cases missed) and 38 cases in the EHS 3/4 group (seven cases misdiagnosed). Using 4D-CTA to diagnose arterial ED, the area under the ROC curve yielded a value of 0.879, with a specificity of 93.9% and a sensitivity of 82.5%. These findings indicated that 4D-CTA using 320-detector row dynamic volume CT is a promising and reliable utility in diagnosing arterial ED.

We propose a design for topological phononic crystals comprising Helmholtz resonators to give rise to tunable interface states by adjusting the side length and rotation angle of the cavities. The underlying mechanism is that the modulation of edge modes changes the interface state by controlling local resonance elements and breaking mirror symmetry. The performance of the resulting device is numerically demonstrated via the production of robust topological valley transport along a prescribed path for incident waves of different frequencies. Our design helps to improve the design of tunable topological insulators and may find important applications in diverse fields such as acoustic communications.

We propose an ultrathin membrane-type active acoustic metasurfaces with deep-subwavelength thickness for arbitrarily steering the transmitted acoustic wavefront in real-time via adjustment of the static voltage distribution. The underlying mechanism is that the change of tension on the middle membrane by the stresses introduced by the voltage exerted on the piezoelectric layers modulates the surface phase profile. The performance of the resulting device is numerically demonstrated via versatile wave-steering phenomena. Our design with functionality and flexibility opens up possibility for the design of active acoustic functional devices and may find important application in diverse fields such as acoustic communication.

Periodic arrays of shunted piezoelectric patches are employed to control the propagation of elastic waves in phononic beams. Each piezo-patch is connected to a single resistance-inductance-negative capacitance shunting circuit. The eigen value equation of the phononic piezoelectric beam is deduced by combining the piezoelectric effect of the piezoelectric patch with the mechanical vibration. Two main differences between the negative capacitance shunt networks and traditional circuits are found. (1)Negative capacitance shunt networks can change the widths and locations of locally resonant band gaps. (2) when the negative capacitance is close to inherent capacitance, the noise reduction is remarkable. Commercial finite element software COMSOL Multiphysic5.2 is used to simulate the vibration modes of the phononic piezoelectric beam.

Objective To identify differentially expressed genes associated with motion sickness (MS) susceptibility in the rat caudal vestibular nucleus. Methods We identified MS susceptible (MSS) and insusceptible (inMSS) rats by quantifying rotation-induced MS symptoms: defecation and spontaneous locomotion activity. Microarray analysis was used to screen differentially expressed genes in the caudal vestibular nucleus (CVN) after rotation. Plasma stress hormones were identified by radioimmunoassay. Candidate genes were selected by bioinformatics analysis and the microarray results were verified by real-time quantitative-PCR (RT-qPCR) methods. By using Elvax implantation, receptor antagonists or recombinant adenovirus targeting the candidate genes were applied to the CVN to evaluate their contribution to MS susceptibility variability. Validity of gene expression manipulation was verified by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. Results A total of 304 transcripts were differentially expressed in the MSS group compared with the inMSS group. RT-qPCR analysis verified the expression pattern of candidate genes, including nicotinic cholinergic receptor (nAchR) α3 subunit, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 4 (5-HT4R), tachykinin neurokinin-1 (NK1R), γ-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABAAR) α6 subunit, olfactory receptor 81 (Olr81) and homology 2 domain-containing transforming protein 1 (Shc1). In MSS animals, the nAchR antagonist mecamylamine significantly alleviated rotation-induced MS symptoms and the plasma β-endorphin response. The NK1R antagonist CP99994 and Olr81 knock-down were effective for the defecation response, while the 5-HT4R antagonist RS39604 and Shc1 over-expression showed no therapeutic effect. In inMSS animals, rotation-induced changes in spontaneous locomotion activity and the plasma β-endorphin level occurred in the presence of the GABAAR antagonist gabazine. Conclusion Our findings suggested that the variability of the CVN gene expression profile after motion stimulation might be a putative molecular basis for individual differences in MS susceptibility and provide information for the development of new therapeutic strategies for MSS individuals.

This text probes into the usage of PLC controller which controls the X-ray generator's basic parameters.