Research on Influences of Transient High IOP during LASIK on Retinal Functions and Ultrastructure

Objectives. To study the influences of transient high intraocular pressure(IOP) during LASIK on retinal functions and ultrastructure. Methods. Thirty-two New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into normal control, experimental control, negative suction 20 s and negative suction 3 min groups. The experimental control group was treated only by laser. Rabbit eyes received suction for different periods of time (20 s, 3 min) by negative pressure generator in different groups. The changes of neuro-optic and retinal ultrastructure were observed under electron and light microscopes; retinal neurofunctional changes were observed with flash-visual evoked potential (F-VEP) and flash-electroreinogram (F-ERG). Results. There was no obvious change in optic nerve, retina, ERG a-wave and b-wave in normal control and experimental control groups. There were slight changes in tissues of optic nerve and retina at various times of suction 20 s compared with control group, and a sharp change in suction 3 min group within 14d after operation, but these changes recovered at 28d . Amplitude of ERG b-wave observed at different time will decrease with suction periods prolonged. It can recover to normal level with the prolonged recovery periods. Amplitude and incubation period of ERG a-wave and VEP-P did not change significantly after different duration of suction. Conclusions. The transient high IOP during LASIK might have influence on retinal function and ultrastructure, but these changes were reversible

Effect of sitagliptin on cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Data are lacking on the long-term effect on cardiovascular events of adding sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor, to usual care in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind study, we assigned 14,671 patients to add either sitagliptin or placebo to their existing therapy. Open-label use of antihyperglycemic therapy was encouraged as required, aimed at reaching individually appropriate glycemic targets in all patients. To determine whether sitagliptin was noninferior to placebo, we used a relative risk of 1.3 as the marginal upper boundary. The primary cardiovascular outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 3.0 years, there was a small difference in glycated hemoglobin levels (least-squares mean difference for sitagliptin vs. placebo, -0.29 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.32 to -0.27). Overall, the primary outcome occurred in 839 patients in the sitagliptin group (11.4%; 4.06 per 100 person-years) and 851 patients in the placebo group (11.6%; 4.17 per 100 person-years). Sitagliptin was noninferior to placebo for the primary composite cardiovascular outcome (hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.09; P<0.001). Rates of hospitalization for heart failure did not differ between the two groups (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.20; P = 0.98). There were no significant between-group differences in rates of acute pancreatitis (P = 0.07) or pancreatic cancer (P = 0.32). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, adding sitagliptin to usual care did not appear to increase the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, hospitalization for heart failure, or other adverse events

Cu-Catalyzed Redox-Neutral Ring Cleavage of Cycloketone <i>O</i>‑Acyl Oximes: Chemodivergent Access to Distal Oxygenated Nitriles

A chemodivergent copper-catalyzed ring opening of cycloketone oximes via radical-mediated C–C bond cleavage under redox-neutral conditions is described. This method allows the divergent synthesis of γ- and δ-acyloxylated, alkoxylated, and hydroxylated nitriles while avoiding the use of toxic cyanide reagents. Moreover, these reactions proceed under very mild conditions with good functional group tolerance. Notably, ring-opening reactions of the less-strained substrate cyclopentanone oxime also proceeded well under the established conditions

A new synergetic system based on triboelectric nanogenerator and corrosion inhibitor for enhanced anticorrosion performance

A new synergetic anticorrosion system was constructed via combining a self-powered cathodic protection based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and a green corrosion inhibitor of zinc gluconate (ZnG). Wind-driven TENG with a sandwich-like structure was designed, exhibiting high output performance with the peak values of short circuit current, output voltage and corresponding power reaching about 155 mu A, 402 V and 13.5 mW, respectively, under a wind speed of 10 m/s. With the assistance of TENG, the migration of corrosion inhibitor can be accelerated and the formation of the protective layer becomes faster due to the driving force of electric field. The shielding effect of protective layer in turn improves the cathodic protection of TENG. The immersion experiment and electrochemical measurements including Tafel polarization curves and EIS were taken to evaluate the performance of synergetic anticorrosion system. FESEM and EDS measurements were performed to analyze the morphology and composition of the protective layer and confirm the mechanism of synergetic anticorrosion. This work expands the application of TENG in the anticorrosion field and proposes a new thought of synergetic anticorrosion method

Evaluation of solar aided thermal power generation with various power plants

Solar aided power generation (SAPG) is an efficient way to make use of low or medium temperature solar heat for power generation purposes. The so-called SAPG is actually 'piggy back' solar energy on the conventional fuel fired power plant. Therefore, its solar-to-electricity efficiency depends on the power plant it is associated with. In the paper, the developed SAPG model has been used to study the energy and economic benefits of the SAPG with 200 and 300MW typical, 600MW subcritical, 600MW supercritical, and 600 and 1000MW ultra-supercritical fuel power units separately. The solar heat in the temperature range from 260 to 90°C is integrated with above-mentioned power units to replace the extraction steam (to preheat the feedwater) in power boosting and fuel-saving operating modes. The results indicate that the benefits of SAPG are different for different steam extracted positions and different power plants. Generally, the larger the power plant, the higher the solar benefit if the same level solar is integrated. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Qin Yan, Eric Hu, Yongping Yang and Rongrong Zha