抗VEGF联合超声睫状体成形术治疗新生血管性青光眼

目的:探讨超声睫状体成形术(UCP)联合抗VEGF注射在治疗新生血管性青光眼(NVG)患者中的临床疗效及安全性的研究。方法:选取2020-09/2021-09于蚌埠医学院第一附属医院就诊的NVG患者30例30眼,入院后所有患者术眼均注射抗VEGF药物(雷珠单抗),术后再从中随机选取15例行UCP治疗(UCP组),另15例行小梁切除术(小梁组)。术后随访时长为10mo,每次随访时,比较两组患者术眼眼压下降程度,评估术眼疼痛程度的变化及相关并发症的发生。结果:UCP组和小梁组眼压及患眼疼痛程度均较术前有明显下降,UCP组并发症相较小梁组少。结论:UCP联合抗VEGF注射能够有效地控制NVG患者眼压及疼痛程度,且并发症较少安全性高。

Inference of interactions between players based on asynchronously updated evolutionary game data

The interactions between players of the prisoner's dilemma game are inferred using observed game data.All participants play the game with their counterparts and gain corresponding rewards during each round of the game.The strategies of each player are updated asynchronously during the game.Two inference methods of the interactions between players are derived with naive mean-field(n MF)approximation and maximum log-likelihood estimation(MLE),respectively.Two methods are tested numerically also for fully connected asymmetric Sherrington-Kirkpatrick models,varying the data length,asymmetric degree,payoff,and system noise(coupling strength).We find that the mean square error of reconstruction for the MLE method is inversely proportional to the data length and typically half(benefit from the extra information of update times)of that by n MF.Both methods are robust to the asymmetric degree but work better for large payoffs.Compared with MLE,n MF is more sensitive to the strength of couplings and prefers weak couplings.

Neurotrophic effects of dental pulp stem cells in repair of peripheral nerve after crush injury

BACKGROUND Nerve diseases and injuries,which are usually accompanied by motor or sensory dysfunction and disorder,impose a heavy burden upon patients and greatly reduce their quality of life.Dental pulp stem cells(DPSCs),derived from the neural crest,have many characteristics that are similar to those of neural cells,indicating that they can be an ideal source for neural repair.AIM To explore the potential roles and molecular mechanisms of DPSCs in crushed nerve recovery.METHODS DPSCs were isolated,cultured,and identified by multilineage differentiation and flow cytometry.Western blot and immunofluorescent staining were applied to analyze the expression levels of neurotrophic proteins in DPSCs after neural induction.Then,we collected the secretions of DPSCs.We analyzed their effects on RSC96 cell proliferation and migration by CCK8 and transwell assays.Finally,we generated a sciatic nerve crush injury model in vivo and used the sciatic function index,walking track analysis,muscle weight,and hematoxylin&eosin(H&E)staining to further evaluate the nerve repair ability of DPSCs.RESULTS DPSCs highly expressed several specific neural markers,including GFAP,S100,Nestin,P75,and NF200,and were inclined toward neural differentiation.Furthermore,neural-induced DPSCs(N-DPSCs)could express neurotrophic factors,including NGF,BDNF,and GDNF.The secretions of N-DPSCs could enhance the proliferation and migration of Schwann cells.In vivo,both DPSC and N-DPSC implants alleviated gastrocnemius muscle atrophy.However,in terms of anatomy and motor function,as shown by H&E staining,immunofluorescent staining,and walking track analyses,the repair effects of N-DPSCs were more sustained,potent,and effective than those of DPSCs and the controls.CONCLUSION In summary,this study demonstrated that DPSCs are inclined to differentiate into neural cells.N-DPSCs express neurotrophic proteins that could enhance the proliferation and migration of SCs.Furthermore,our results suggested that NDPSCs could help crushed nerves with functional recovery and anatomical repair in vivo.Thus,DPSCs or N-DPSCs could be a promising therapeutic cell source for peripheral nerve repair and regeneration.

A cross-sectional study into the correlation of common household risk factors and allergic rhinitis in Taiwan's tropical environment

Objective:To discuss the effect of lesser-known potential risk factors,such as bedroom showers,on the prevalence of allergic rhinitis.Methods:A cross-sectional,population-based study was performed using both survey and fungal culturing in southern Taiwan.There were 998 participants enrolled in the survey,and 513 sets of fungal culture obtained.With score for allergic rhinitis(SFAR) more than 7,the patient was defined to have allergic rhinitis.Risks of allergic rhinitis were calculated as odds ratios for various predicted risk factors by logistic regression.Correlation between predicted risk factors and fungal level were examined with linear regression.Results:The adjusted odds ratio of frequently using bedroom shower to having allergic rhinitis was 1.572(95% confidence interval:1.090-2.265),and 0.962 for people with older age to have AR(95% confidence interval:0.949-0.976).As to the 24-hour fungal level,the standardized coefficient was 0.254 for frequent use of bedroom shower,and 0.106 for window open hours.Conclusions:Use of bedroom shower is a potential risk factor for allergic rhinitis development.

MiR-214-3p Prevents the Development of Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders in Elderly Rats

Objective:This study aimed to identify microRNAs(miRNAs)involved in the development of perioperative neurocognitive disorders(PND).Methods:Plasma exosomal miRNA expression was examined in patients before and after cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB)using microarray and qRT-PCR and these patients were diagnosed as PND later.Elderly rats were subjected to CPB,and the cognitive functions were examined.Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to predict the targets of miR-214-3p.Rats were administered rno-miR-214-3p agomir before or after CPB to investigate the role of miR-214-3p in PND development.Results:We identified 76 differentially expressed plasma exosomal miRNAs in PND patients after surgery(P<0.05,|log2FC|>0.58),including the upregulated hsa-miR-214-3p(P=0.002399392).Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2(PTGS2)was predicted as a miR-214-3p target.In rats,CPB reduced the platform crossing numbers and target quadrant stay time,accompanied with hippocampal neuronal necrosis.The rno-miR-214-3p level was significantly increased in plasma exosomes but decreased in rat hippocampus after surgery,exhibiting a negative correlation(P<0.001,r=-0.762).A negative correlation between miR-214-3p and PTGS2 protein expression was also observed in the hippocampus after surgery.Importantly,rno-miR-214-3p agomir treatment,before or after surgery,significantly increased the platform crossing numbers(P=0.035)and target quadrant stay time(P=0.029)compared with negative control.Hippocampal PTGS2 protein level was increased in the untreated surgery group and decreased in response to rno-miR-214-3p agomir treatment before or after surgery(both P<0.05 vs.negative control).Conclusion:These data suggest that miR-214-3p/PTGS2 signaling contributes to the development of PND,serving as a potential therapeutic target for PND.

Redox Memristors with Volatile Threshold Switching Behavior for Neuromorphic Computing

The spiking neural network(SNN),closely inspired by the human brain,is one of the most powerful platforms to enable highly efficient,low cost,and robust neuromorphic computations in hardware using traditional or emerging electron devices within an integrated system.In the hardware implementation,the building of artificial spiking neurons is fundamental for constructing the whole system.However,with the slowing down of Moore’s Law,the traditional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor(CMOS)technology is gradually fading and is unable to meet the growing needs of neuromorphic computing.Besides,the existing artificial neuron circuits are complex owing to the limited bio-plausibility of CMOS devices.Memristors with volatile threshold switching(TS)behaviors and rich dynamics are promising candidates to emulate the biological spiking neurons beyond the CMOS technology and build high-efficient neuromorphic systems.Herein,the state-of-the-art about the fundamental knowledge of SNNs is reviewed.Moreover,we review the implementation of TS memristor-based neurons and their systems,and point out the challenges that should be further considered from devices to circuits in the system demonstrations.We hope that this review could provide clues and be helpful for the future development of neuromorphic computing with memristors.

Improving the understanding of PI-RADS in practice: characters of PI-RADS 4 and 5 lesions with negative biopsy

The Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System(PI-RADS)has good ability to identify the nature of lesions on prostate magnetic resonance imaging(MRI).However,some lesions are still reported as PI-RADS 4 and 5 but are biopsy-proven benign.Herein,we aimed to summarize the reasons for the negative prostate biopsy of patients who were assessed as PI-RADS 4 and 5 by biparameter MRI.We retrospectively sorted out the prostate MRI,treatment,and follow-up results of patients who underwent a biparameter MRI examination of the prostate in The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University(Nanjing,China)from August 2019 to June 2021 with PI-RADS 4 and 5 but a negative biopsy.We focused on reviewing the MRI characteristics.A total of 467 patients underwent transperineal prostate biopsy.Among them,biopsy pathology of 93 cases were negative.After follow-up,90 patients were ruled out of prostate cancer.Among the 90 cases,40 were considered to be overestimated PI-RADS after review.A total of 22 cases were transition zone(TZ)lesions with regular appearance and clear boundaries,and 3 cases were symmetrical lesions.Among 15 cases,the TZ nodules penetrated the peripheral zone(PZ)and were mistaken for the origin of PZ.A total of 17 cases of lesions were difficult to distinguish from prostate cancer.Among them,5 cases were granulomatous inflammation(1 case of prostate tuberculosis).A total of 33 cases were ambiguous lesions,whose performance was between PI-RADS 3 and 4.In summary,the reasons for“false-positive MRI diagnosis”included PI-RADS overestimation,ambiguous images giving higher PI-RADS,diseases that were really difficult to distinguish,and missed lesion in the initial biopsy;and the first two accounted for the most.

A two-stage parametric subspace model for efficient contrast-preserving decolorization

rgb2gray转换模型是目前最为经典和流行的彩色图像灰度化方法。最新的研究表明,对一阶线性模型的三个加权参数进行自适应离散搜索具有良好的潜力。在本文中,我们提出一种两步法方式,将参数搜索策略扩充到二阶多变量多项式模型。该模型划分为三个子空间的和,本文论证了第一个子空间是最为重要的,并且第二和三个子空间可以看作为对其进行加细的部分。在模型的第一步,将梯度相似性测度(gradient correlation similarity,Gcs)用于第一个子空间,得到一个初步的灰度化图像。然后,再次使用Gcs对初步灰度图像和第二、三子空间所引出形成的候选图像进行最优解搜索。通过数值实验,在定量评价、定性视觉评价和算法复杂度方面表明了本方法的有效性。

Icaritin Attenuates Lipid Accumulation by Increasing Energy Expenditure and Autophagy Regulated by Phosphorylating AMPK

Background and Aims:Lipid accumulation is the major characteristic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,the prevalence of which continues to rise.We aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of icaritin on lipid accumulation.Methods:Cells were treated with icaritin at 0.7,2.2,6.7,or 20μM for 24 h.The effects on lipid accumulation in L02 and Huh-7 cells were detected by Bodipy and oil red O staining,respectively.Mitochondria biogenesis of L02 cells was detected by MitoTracker Orange staining.Glucose uptake and adenosine triphosphate content of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes were detected.The expression levels of proteins in the adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase(AMPK)signaling pathway,biomarkers of autophagy,and mitochondria biogenesis were measured by western blotting.LC3 puncta were detected by immunofluorescence.Results:Icaritin significantly attenuated lipid accumulation in L02 and Huh-7 cells and boosted the mitochondria biogenesis of L02 cells.Icaritin enhanced glucose uptake,decreased adenosine triphosphate content,and activated the AMPK signaling pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes.Icaritin boosted autophagy and also enhanced the initiation of autophagic flux in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and C2C12 myoblasts.However,icaritin decreased autophagy and promoted mitochondria biogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes.Conclusions:Icaritin attenuates lipid accumulation by increasing energy expenditure and regulating autophagy by activating the AMPK pathway.

Morphology and activity relationships of macroporous CuO-ZnO-ZrO_2 catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO_2 hydrogenation

A series of macroporous CuO-ZnO-ZrO2 （CZZ） catalysts with different Zn/Zr ratios were successfully prepared by template method and characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, N2 adsorption, reactive N2O adsorption, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, H2 temperature-pro- grammed reduction （H2-TPR）, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The activity of the catalysts was tested for methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation. It is found that the increase in the Zn/Zr ratio could lead to the sintering of the catalysts, destroying the macroporous structure integrity. The macroporous CZZ catalysts own lower Zn/Zr ratio, exhibiting a better morphology and activity. For comparison, the conventional nonporous CZZ catalysts were also investigated. The results show that the CZZ catalysts with macroporous structure own smaller particles, higher CO2 conversion, and CH3OH yield. It reveals that the macroporous structure could inhibit the growth of the par- ticle size, and the special porous structure is favorable for diffusion and penetration of CO2, which could improve the catalytic activities.

Microstructure,Mechanical Properties,and Corrosion Behavior of Mg-Al-Ca Alloy Prepared by Friction Stir Processing

Friction stir processing(FSP)was used to modify the microstructure and improve the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of an Mg-Al-Ca alloy.The results demonstrated that,after FSP,the grain size of the Mg-Al-Ca alloy was decreased from 13.3 to 6.7μm.Meanwhile,the Al_(8)Mn_(5) phase was broken and dispersed,and its amount was increased.The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the Mg-Al-Ca alloy were increased by 17.0%and 10.1%,respectively,due to the combination of fine grain,second phase,and orientation strengthening,while the elongation was slightly decreased.The immersion and electrochemical corrosion rates in 3.5 wt%NaCl solution decreased by 18.4%and 37.5%,respectively,which contributed to grain refinement.However,the stress corrosion cracking(SCC)resistance of the modified Mg-Al-Ca alloy decreased significantly,which was mainly due to the filiform corrosion induced by the Al_(8)Mn_(5) phase.SCC was mainly controlled by anodic dissolution,while the cathodic hydrogen evolution accelerated the SCC process.

Area Efficient Pattern Representation of Binary Neural Networks on RRAM

Resistive random access memory(RRAM)has been demonstrated to implement multiply-and-accumulate(MAC)operations using a highly parallel analog fashion,which dramatically accelerates the convolutional neural networks(CNNs).Since CNNs require considerable converters between analog crossbars and digital peripheral circuits,recent studies map the binary neural networks(BNNs)onto RRAM and binarize the weights to{+1,-1}.However,two mainstream representations for BNN weights introduce patterns of redundant 0s and 1s when dealing with negative weights.In this work,we reduce the area of redundant 0s and 1s by proposing a BNN weight representation framework based on the novel pattern representation and a corresponding architecture.First,we spilt the weight matrix into several small matrices by clustering adjacent columns together.Second,we extract 1s'patterns,i.e.,the submatrices only containing 1s,from the small weight matrix,such that each final output can be represented by the sum of several patterns.Third,we map these patterns onto RRAM crossbars,including pattern computation crossbars(PCCs)and pattern accumulation crossbars(PACs).Finally,we compare the pattern representation with two mainstream representations and adopt the more area efficient one.The evaluation results demonstrate that our framework can save over 20%of crossbar area effectively,compared with two mainstream representations.