Effects of multiple intravitreal anti-VEGF injections on retinal nerve fiber layer and intraocular pressure: a comparative clinical study

Dear Sir,Ifound the article by Sobac1etal[1]very interesting.The authors concluded that repeated intravitreal injection(IVI)of ranibizumab or bevacizumab didn’t seem have adverse effects on retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL)thickness in wet age-related macular degeneration(AMD)patients.

Remaining oil distribution characteristics in an oil reservoir with ultra-high water-cut

An accurate mapping and understanding of remaining oil distribution is very important for water control and stabilize oil production of mature oilfields in ultra-high water-cut stage.Currently,the Tuo-21 Fault Block of the Shengtuo Oilfield has entered the stage of ultra-high water cut(97.2%).Poor adaptability of the well pattern,ineffective water injection cycle and low efficiency of engineering measures(such as workover,re-perforation and utilization of high-capacity pumps)are the significant problems in the ultra-high water-cut reservoir.In order to accurately describe the oil and water flow characteristics,relative permeability curves at high water injection multiple(injected pore volume)and a semiquantitative method is applied to perform fine reservoir simulation of the Sand group 3e7 in the Block.An accurate reservoir model is built and history matching is performed.The distribution characteristics of remaining oil in lateral and vertical directions are quantitatively simulated and analyzed.The results show that the numerical simulation considering relative permeability at high injection multiple can reflect truly the remaining oil distribution characteristics after water flooding in an ultrahigh water-cut stage.The distribution of remaining oil saturation can be mapped more accurately and quantitatively by using the‘four-points and five-types’classification method,providing a basis for potential tapping of various remaining oil types of oil reservoirs in late-stage of development with high water-cut.

Comparative effects of insulin pump and injection on gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy outcomes and serum biomarkers

BACKGROUND Insulin injection is the basic daily drug treatment for diabetic patients.AIM To evaluate the comparative impacts of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion(CSII).METHODS Based on the treatment modality received,the patients were allocated into two cohorts:The CSII group and the multiple daily injections(MDI)group,with each cohort comprising 210 patients.Comparative assessments were made regarding serum levels of serum-secreted frizzled-related protein 5,homocysteine,and C1q/TNF-related protein 9.Furthermore,outcomes such as fasting plasma glucose,2-hour postprandial glucose levels,pain assessment scores,and the incidence of complications were evaluated post-treatment.RESULTS The CSII group displayed notably lower fasting plasma glucose and 2-h postprandial glucose levels in comparison to the MDI group(P<0.05).Subsequent analysis post-treatment unveiled a significantly higher percentage of patients reporting no pain in the CSII group(60.00%)in contrast to the MDI group(36.19%)(P<0.05).Additionally,the CSII group exhibited a markedly reduced occurrence of fetal distress and premature rupture of membranes compared to the MDI group(P<0.05).However,there were no significant variances observed in other pregnancy outcomes between the two groups(P>0.05).A statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in the incidence of complications between the groups(χ^(2)=11.631,P=0.001).CONCLUSION The utilization of CSII via an insulin pump,as opposed to MDI,can significantly enhance the management of insulin administration in patients with GDM by diversifying the sites of insulin delivery.This approach not only promotes optimal glycemic control but also regulates metabolic factors linked to blood sugar,reducing the likelihood of adverse pregnancy outcomes and complications.The clinical relevance and importance of CSII in GDM management highlight its wide-ranging clinical usefulness.

Single Zone, Zero Dimensional Model of Diesel Multiple-Injection

A detailed single zone, zero dimensional model of diesel multiple-injection system was developed from first principle, for compression, combustion and expansion processes for direct injection diesel engine. Equilibrium equation of Extended Zeldolvich Mechanism (EZM) for NOx formation was incorporated to predict NOx emission. A different approach was assumed for the equilibrium temperature. An approach of using the average cycle temperature within NOx formation region was used in the EZM equilibrium equation. The model codes were implemented in MATLAB. This model is developed to investigate the effects of both single and multiple-pulse fuel injection strategies on engine performance and NOx emissions. The results obtained from the model were validated with experimental data available in the literature. Results obtained showed that the use of average cycle temperature within the NOx formation temperature region could be useful in predicting NOx formation with reasonable degree of accuracy. Injection timing, mass ratio of injected fuel, and dwell between pulses have significant effects on the NOx emission and engine performance. The results also show that as the number of pulses increases, NOx emission and engine performance decrease. For optimal balance between NOx and engine performance, mass of the pilot injection should be between 10 and 25% of the total mass of fuel used per cycle.

A new method for predicting injection multiples of extreme displacement in waterflood reservoirs

The theoretical relationship between water injection multiple(i.e.injected pore volume)and water saturation is inferred from theoretical concepts of reservoir engineering.A mathematical model based on core displacement tests is established for the entire injection process that satisfies both initial displacement and extreme displacement,simultaneously.The results show that prior to the flooding,the water injection multiple has a linear relationship with the water saturation,and the utilization rate of the injected water is the highest.As water breakthrough at the production end,the water-cut increases,and the injection multiple increases exponentially while the utilization efficiency of the injected water gradually decreases.When the injection multiple approaches infinity,the utilization efficiency of the injected water gradually decreases to 0,by which time the water-cut at the production end is always 1.At this time,the water saturation no longer changes,and the water flooding recovery rate reaches its limit.Based on the experimental test data,a mathematical model of the entire process of injection multiple and water saturation is established,which has high fitting accuracy that can predict the injection multiple in the different stages of development of a mature oil reservoir.The dynamically changing index of the injection water utilization efficiency in reservoir development by reactive water flooding can be obtained through reasonable transformation of the mathematical model.This is of great significance in guiding evaluations of the effects of reservoir development and formulating countermeasures.

Accretion Processes of Oceanic Crust in Slow-spreading Ridges:Plagiogranite Perspective of the Xigaze Ophiolite,South Tibet

Structural and petrological data suggest that the Xigaze ophiolite from the Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone(YZSZ)in south Tibet was a typical slow-spreading ridge.A new field,geochemical,mineral,and U-Pb zircon dataset of plagiogranite intrusions were used to constrain the dynamic processes of oceanic accretion in this slow-spreading ridge.Plagiogranites mainly occur as dykes or intrusions intruded into the whole sequence of the ophiolite and have a similar orientation to the dolerite dykes developed in the late stage of detachment faulting.U-Pb zircon ages of 122–123 Ma were obtained for two types of plagiogranites and associated dolerite dykes.Detailed geochemical and mineralogical examinations suggest that the plagiogranites are the product of low-pressure(2–3 kbar)fractional crystallization of midocean ridge basalt-like magma and unlikely to have been derived from the partial melting of hydrous gabbroic rocks.The complex cross-cut relationship between the plagiogranites and ophiolite sequence reflects that they are controlled by small discontinued melt lenses rather than a big magma chamber under the ridge axis and reveals multiple injections during the oceanic crust accretion.The formation of plagiogranites possibly reflects the complex characteristic of oceanic accretion at slow-spreading ridges,time-dependent on structural(external)and magmatic(internal)processes.

Protective Effects of Radix Astragali Injection on Multiple Organs of Rats with Obstructive Jaundice

Objective： To investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of Radix Astragali Injection on multiple organs of rats with obstructive jaundice（OJ）. Methods： A total of 180 rats were randomly divided into the sham-operated, model control and treated groups（60 in each group）. On 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after operation, the serum contents of alanine aminotransferase（ALT）, aspartate aminotransferase（AST）, r-glutamyl transpeptidase（r-GT）, total bilirubin（TBil）, direct bilirubin（DBil）, blood urine nitrogen（BUN）, and creatinine（CREA） were determined. And the pathological changes of livers, kidneys and lungs, and protein expressions of toll-like receptor-4（TLR-4） of livers, intercellular adhesion molecule-1（ICAM-1） of lungs, Bax and nuclear factor-kappa B（NF-κB）, as well as apoptotic indexes of multiple organs were observed, respectively. Results： The pathological severity scores of multiple organs（including livers on 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, kidneys on 14 and 28 days, and lungs on 14 days）, serum contents of ALT（14 and 21 days）, AST（14 days）, TBil（7, 14, 21 and 28 days）, DBil（14 and 21 days）, BUN（28 days）, protein expressions of TLR-4（in livers, 28 days）, Bax（in livers and kidneys, 21 days）, and apoptotic indexes in livers（7 and 21 days） in the treated group were significantly lower than those in the model control group（P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. Conclusion： Radix Astragali Injection exerts protective effects on multiple organs of OJ rats by improving the pathological changes of lung, liver and kidney, decreasing the serum index of hepatic and renal function as well as inhibiting the protein expression of TLR-4 and Bax in the livers and Bax in the kidneys.

Interaction between a diesel-fuel spray and entrained air with single- and double-injection strategies using large eddy simulations

Interaction between fuel and air in a combustion chamber is one of the main drivers of the mixing process.Experimentally,flow visualizations are limited by high droplet density in the spray.Numerically,the ability of large eddy simulations(LES)to resolve large scales of flow offers good perspectives on capturing flow structures issued from the interaction between the Lagrangian(fuel droplets)and Eulerian(ambient gas)phases.This study examined these interactions first during a single injection using 3D and 2D criteria for both phases.As for the 3D criteria,the spray shape was analyzed in parallel to the Q-criteria applied to the Eulerian phase,making it possible to relate the spray deformations to some specific Eulerian structures.Secondly,2D criteria were the fuel mass-fraction field and Eulerian streamlines,both taken in the mid-plane of the spray.This last analysis allows for identifying certain mechanisms involved in the Eulerian phase’s structure generation and relates it to high fuel-concentration areas in the fuel mass-fraction visualizations.