Prevalence of amblyopia among preschool children in central south China

AIM: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with amblyopia among children aged 30-83 mo in central south of China.METHODS: A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in children aged 30-83 mo in Changsha(an urban city) and Zhangjiajie(a rural area) in central south of China. Clinical examinations including ocular alignment, ocular motility, visual acuity(VA), prism cover test, cycloplegic refraction, slit lamp examination and fundus examination were performed by trained study ophthalmologists and optometrists. Unilateral amblyopia was defined as a 2-line difference between eyes with VA<20/32 in the worse eye and with coexisting anisometropia [≥1.00 D spherical eutivalent(SE) for hyperopia, ≥3.00 D SE for myopia, and ≥1.50 D for astigmatism], strabismus, or past or present visual axis obstruction. Bilateral amblyopia was defined as VA in both eyes <20/40(≥ 48-month-old) and <20/50(< 48-month-old), with coexisting hyperopia ≥4.00 D SE, myopia ≤-6.00 D SE, and astigmatism ≥2.50 D, or past or present visual axis obstruction.RESULTS: There were 8042 children enrolled and 7713 children were screened. The amblyopia prevalence in children aged 30-83 mo was 1.09%(95% confidence interval, 0.86%-1.35%) with no age(P=0.81), gender(P=0.46) or area distribution(P=0.93) differences. Of these, 0.68% were unilateral cases and 0.41% were bilateral cases. Underlying causes included anisometropia(40%), binocular refractive error(36%), strabismus(14%) and deprivation(10%). Hyperopia combined with astigmatism was the frequent refractive error for ametropic and anisometropic amblyopia.CONCLUSION: In this rural and urban Chinese population, 1.09% of children with 30-83 mo of age had amblyopia, a prevalence rate similar to that of many other studies. Anisometropia and refractive error are the most common causes of unilateral and bilateral amblyopia respectively.

Intravitreal injection of resveratrol inhibits laser-induced murine choroidal neovascularization

AIM:To determine the effects of intravitreal resveratrol(RSV)on murine laser-induced choroidal neovascularization(CNV).METHODS:The toxicity of RSV to choroidal endothelial cell(CEC)was measured using thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide(M一)assay.Effects of RSV on choroidal endothelial cell(CEC)migration were evaluated with a modified Boyden chamber assay,while tube formation was evaluated in a 2-D gel assay.CNV was induced by laser photocoagulation in mice.The effects of intravitreal injection of RSV on CNV development were evaluated by fluorescein angiography(FA),confocal analysis of isolectin B4 labeled choroidal flat mounts,and histologic examination of CNV membranes.Immunostaining was used to analyze the expression and phosphorylation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2(VEGFR2).RESULTS:No significant cell toxicity was observed in CEC if the concentration of RSV was less than 200 pmol/L(P>0.05).RSV inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)-induced CEC migration(P<0.05)and tube formation(P<0.05)invitro.Furthermore,intravitrealinjectionof RSV significantly inhibited laser induced CNV formation in mice.The FA leakage,CNV volume and CNV area analysis revealed that there were 41%,45%,and 58%reduction in RSV-treated eyes(1.691±0.1032,178163±78623μm^3 and 6508±619.0μm^2,respectively)compared with those in control(2.724±0.08447,379676±98382μm3and16576±2646μm^2,respectively;P<0.05).Phospho-VEGFR2expression was much weaker in the sections of CNV lesions in RSV injected mice compared with that in control(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Intravitreal injection of RSV exerts an inhibitory effect on CNV,which may through suppressing endothelial cell migration,tube formation and VEGFR2 phosphorylation.

Analysis of factors influencing the Henry Hub natural gas price based on factor analysis

Henry Hub as an important transaction hub for natural gas sets the gas price standard in the USA. In this paper, the factors influencing Henry Hub natural gas prices are analyzed, and the major factors determining the price levels in the period between January 1997 and December 2016 are studied. It is found that economic conditions, total energy demand, US dollar exchange rate and gas consumption are the major factors. The mechanism of each factor influencing the Henry Hub natural gas price is also explored in the paper.

Value-added anticancer reactivity of sub-5 nm Ag-drug nanoparticles derived from organosilver (Ⅰ) MOF

A totally structure-determined organosilver(I) metal-oganic framework(MOF) of [{Ag_(18)(CF_3COO)_(18)(H_2O)_2}{Ag_4(erlotinib)_4}]_n·7nCH_3OH·3nH_2O(1) was first synthesized by the self-assembly of erlotinib drug ligand and silver salts in the study. 1 formed a NbO-like 3D network, which was built from Ag(I)-erlotinib induced chains and 18-core silver(I) nanoclusters. When 1 was dispersed in methanol solution, it formed derivative nanoparticles(1-NPs) with the average size of 3.81 nm. Silver(Ⅰ) ion is an efficient reactive oxygen species(ROS) evocator, whereas the erlotinib ligand possesses the targeting activity towards tumor cells. Therefore, IC_(50) values of 1-NPs for A549 and MRC-5 cells were respectively 0.97 and 7.28 μM, which were lower than IC_(50) value of erlotinib. It should be noted that the 7.5-fold higher inhibition effect on A549 cells allows 1-NPs to be a potential targeting anticancer drug for curing lung cancer. The study opens a new avenue to design anticancer drugs based on organosilver(I)MOF derivatives that can realize the value-added reactivity by combining clinical drugs with ROS-inductive silver(Ⅰ) ion.