Introducing an ophthalmic testing system

AIM: To integrate the individual and various items of refractive examination to one software, and made it applicated conveniently.<p>METHODS: On the basis of every examination system, the computer software was designed and developed, the modules were established and maintained.<p>RESULTS: The computer software could fulfill the examinations of visual acuity, strabismus(Hess screen), color vision, stereopsis.<p>CONCLUSION: After 10 years' application, the effect is significant. It can nearly replace the items using projector of integrated refractometer, stereopsis exam and color blind exam

Balloon kyphoplasty as palliative care for painful pathological spinal fracture followed by lung cancer metastasis: A cohort study

BackgroundPathological spine fractures caused by metastases of lung cancer have brought great suffering to patients. Percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) has been considered a preferred alternative for painful spinal metastases. The clinical efficacy and safety of PKP for metastatic spinal lesions are urgently to be evaluated.MethodsA cohort study was conducted on 54 cases with pathologic spine fractures caused by metastasis of lung cancer. The correction of kyphosis was assessed by the Cobb angle. The life dependence and quality of the patients were evaluated by the Barthel Index of activities of daily living (ADL) and the quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Patients' survival was carefully recorded.ResultsPKP significantly corrected the kyphosis compared with conservative treatment. The ratio of moderate dependence after fracture was clearly increased by PKP. QALY indicated a better life quality brought by PKP. However, PKP could not improve the survival rate of patients.ConclusionPKP can be used as an effective palliative care treatment for patients with metastatic pathologic spinal fractures of lung cancer

Toward a high-precision mass–energy test of the equivalence principle with atom interferometers

The equivalence principle (EP) is a basic assumption of the general relativity. The quantum test of the equivalence principle with atoms is an important way to examine the applicable scope of the current physical framework so as to discover new physics. Recently, we extended the traditional pure mass or energy tests of the equivalence principle to the joint test of mass–energy by atom interferometry (Zhou et al.,Phys.Rev.A 104,022822). The violation parameter of mass is constrained to η0 = (−0.8 ± 1.4) × 10–10 and that of internal energy to ηE = (0.0 ± 0.4) × 10–10 per reduced energy ratio. Here, we first briefly outline the joint test idea and experimental results, and then, we analyze and discuss how to improve the test accuracy. Finally, we report the latest experimental progress toward a high-precision mass–energy test of the equivalence principle. We realize atom interference fringes of 2T = 2.6 s in the 10-m long-baseline atom interferometer. This free evolution time T, to the best of our knowledge, is the longest duration realized in the laboratory, and the corresponding resolution of gravity measurement is 4.5 × 10−11 g per shot

Dual Antiplatelet Therapy vs Alteplase for Patients With Minor Nondisabling Acute Ischemic Stroke

Importance Intravenous thrombolysis is increasingly used in patients with minor stroke, but its benefit in patients with minor nondisabling stroke is unknown. Objective To investigate whether dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is noninferior to intravenous thrombolysis among patients with minor nondisabling acute ischemic stroke. Design, Setting, and Participants This multicenter, open-label, blinded end point, noninferiority randomized clinical trial included 760 patients with acute minor nondisabling stroke (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score ≤5, with ≤1 point on the NIHSS in several key single-item scores; scale range, 0-42). The trial was conducted at 38 hospitals in China from October 2018 through April 2022. The final follow-up was on July 18, 2022. Interventions Eligible patients were randomized within 4.5 hours of symptom onset to the DAPT group (n = 393), who received 300 mg of clopidogrel on the first day followed by 75 mg daily for 12 (±2) days, 100 mg of aspirin on the first day followed by 100 mg daily for 12 (±2) days, and guideline-based antiplatelet treatment until 90 days, or the alteplase group (n = 367), who received intravenous alteplase (0.9 mg/kg; maximum dose, 90 mg) followed by guideline-based antiplatelet treatment beginning 24 hours after receipt of alteplase. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point was excellent functional outcome, defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 or 1 (range, 0-6), at 90 days. The noninferiority of DAPT to alteplase was defined on the basis of a lower boundary of the 1-sided 97.5% CI of the risk difference greater than or equal to −4.5% (noninferiority margin) based on a full analysis set, which included all randomized participants with at least 1 efficacy evaluation, regardless of treatment group. The 90-day end points were assessed in a blinded manner. A safety end point was symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage up to 90 days. Results Among 760 eligible randomized patients (median [IQR] age, 64 [57-71] years; 223 [31.0%] women; median [IQR] NIHSS score, 2 [1-3]), 719 (94.6%) completed the trial. At 90 days, 93.8% of patients (346/369) in the DAPT group and 91.4% (320/350) in the alteplase group had an excellent functional outcome (risk difference, 2.3% [95% CI, −1.5% to 6.2%]; crude relative risk, 1.38 [95% CI, 0.81-2.32]). The unadjusted lower limit of the 1-sided 97.5% CI was −1.5%, which is larger than the −4.5% noninferiority margin (P for noninferiority &amp;amp;lt;.001). Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage at 90 days occurred in 1 of 371 participants (0.3%) in the DAPT group and 3 of 351 (0.9%) in the alteplase group. Conclusions and Relevance Among patients with minor nondisabling acute ischemic stroke presenting within 4.5 hours of symptom onset, DAPT was noninferior to intravenous alteplase with regard to excellent functional outcome at 90 days. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0366141

Efficient manipulation of gene expression using Natronobacterium gregoryi Argonaute in zebrafish

Abstract Background Natronobacterium gregoryi Argonaute (NgAgo) was found to reduce mRNA without generating detectable DNA double-strand breaks in a couple of endogenous genes in zebrafish, suggesting its potential as a tool for gene knockdown. However, little is known about how it interacts with nucleic acid molecules to interfere with gene expression. Results In this study, we first confirmed that coinjection of NgAgo and gDNA downregulated target genes, generated gene-specific phenotypes and verified some factors (including 5’ phosphorylation, GC ratio, and target positions) of gDNAs affecting gene downregulation. Therein, the sense and antisense gDNAs were equally effective, suggesting that NgAgo possibly binds to DNA. NgAgo-VP64 with gDNAs targeting promoters upregulated the target genes, further providing evidence that NgAgo interacts with genomic DNA and controls gene transcription. Finally, we explain the downregulation of NgAgo/gDNA target genes by interference with the process of gene transcription, which differs from that of morpholino oligonucleotides. Conclusions The present study provides conclusions that NgAgo may target genomic DNA and that target positions and the gDNA GC ratio influence its regulation efficiency

Realizing room temperature double hysteresis loops in antiferroelectric NaNbO3 based ceramics

Lead-free antiferroelectric (AFE) materials have seen a surge of research activity in environmentally friendly energy storage technologies. Recently, considerable work has been done to improve the stability of AFE in NaNbO3 (NN) ceramics, but it remains a grand challenge to obtain typical AFE characteristic double P-E loops in NN ceramics at ambient conditions. In a preliminary estimate of tolerance factor versus average electronegativity difference, we reported the stable AFE phase in 0.95NaNbO3-0.05BiMg2/3Ta1/3O3 sample. The orthorhombic Q to P phase transition was verified by XRD and TEM. Then, the remarkable double P-E loops were obtained in 0.95NaNbO3-0.05BiMg2/3Ta1/3O3 ceramics. Furthermore, a phenomenological model was proposed to explain the P-E relationships and our results. Compared with other reported compounds, the TP-R decreased more obviously from 350 ◦C to 200 ◦C. Superior temperature stability (variations of maximum current, current density, and power density within 15% over 30–140 ◦C) and field induced phase transition were also confirmed by the pulse charge testing. Our work develops a new road for achieving room-temperature double P-E loops in NN ceramics by BiM1M2O3 (M1 might be Mg, Zn, etc; M2 might be Nb, Ta, etc) additives

MiR-29a Suppresses Spermatogenic Cell Apoptosis in Testicular Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Targeting TRPV4 Channels

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as gene expression regulators in the progression of ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Accumulating evidences have indicated miR-29a play roles in myocardial and cerebral IRI. However, the role of miR-29a in testicular IRI has not been elucidated.Methods: Changes in expression of miR-29a and Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) in animal samples and GC-1 spermatogenic cells were examined. The effects of miR-29a on spermatogenic cell apoptosis in testicular IRI were analyzed both in vitro and in vivo.Results: The expression of MiR-29a was negatively correlated with the expression of TRPV4 and significantly downregulated in animal samples and GC-1 cells as testicular IRI progressed. Further studies revealed TRPV4 as a downstream target of miR-29a. Inhibition of miR-29a expression increased the expression of TRPV4 and promoted spermatogenic cell apoptosis, whereas overexpression of miR-29a downregulated TRPV4 expression and suppressed spermatogenic cell apoptosis caused by testicular IRI in vitro and in vivo.Conclusion: Our results suggest that miR-29a suppresses apoptosis induced by testicular IRI by directly targeting TRPV4

Body mass index as an independent risk factor for inferior vena cava resection during thrombectomy for venous tumor thrombus of renal cell carcinoma

Abstract Objective To define preoperative clinical and radiographic risk factors for the need of inferior vena cava (IVC) resection in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and IVC tumor thrombus. Methods We reviewed data of 121 patients with renal cell carcinoma and venous tumor thrombus receiving radical nephrectomy and thrombectomy at our institution between 2015 and 2017, and 86 patients with Mayo I–IV level tumor thrombus were included in the final analysis. Clinical features, operation details, and pathology data were collected. Preoperative images were reviewed separately by two radiologists. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were applied to evaluate clinical and radiographic risk factors of IVC resection. Results Of the 86 patients, 44 (51.2%) received IVC resection during thrombectomy. In univariate analysis, we found that body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.22, P = 0.003), primary tumor diameter (OR = 0.84, P = 0.022), tumor thrombus width (OR = 1.08, P = 0.037), tumor thrombus level (OR = 1.57, P = 0.030), and IVC occlusion (OR = 2.67, P = 0.038) were associated with the need for resection of the IVC. After adjusting for the other factors, BMI (OR = 1.18, P = 0.019) was the only significant risk factor for IVC resection. Multivariable analysis in Mayo II–IV subgroups confirmed BMI as an independent risk factor (OR = 1.26, P = 0.024). A correlation between BMI and the width (Pearson’s correlation coefficient [PCC] = 0.27, P = 0.014) and length (PCC = 0.23, P = 0.037) of the tumor thrombus was noticed. Conclusion We identified BMI as an independent risk factor for IVC resection during thrombectomy of RCC with tumor thrombus in a Chinese population. More careful preoperative preparation for the IVC resection and/or reconstruction is warranted in patients with higher BMI