Long term efficacy and stability of corneal collagen cross linking for post-LASIK ectasia: an average of 80mo follow-up

This study was designed to evaluate efficacy and stability of corneal collagen crosslinking(CXL) in halting the progression of post-laser in situ keratomileusis(LASIK) ectasia and provide long-term follow-up results with an average of 80 mo. Patients with post-LASIK ectasia were treated with CXL between December 2007 and January 2012. Main outcome measures were uncorrected distance visual acuities(UDVA) and corrected distance visual acuities(CDVA), minimum and maximum keratometry(K) values, spherical and cylindrical refraction, and corneal thickness. The study evaluated 17 eyes for 13 patients(8 men, 5 women) with mean age of 31y(range 23 to 39) and mean follow-up of 80.7±15(range 57 to 102)mo. UDVA and CDVA improved from logMAR 0.53±0.36(20/63) to 0.49±0.4(20/50)(P=0.43) and from 0.18±0.17(20/28) to 0.16±0.16(20/27)(P=0.55) respectively. In 15 eyes UDVA and in 13 eyes CDVA either remained stable or improved ≥1 Snellen lines(88.2%) and(76.5%) respectively. Although statistically insignificant, spherical and cylindrical refraction decreased post-CXL from-1.26±2.87 to-0.38±2.32 diopters(D)(P=0.054) and from-3.80±2.47 to-3.04±2.18 D(P=0.13) respectively. Kmax significantly decreased from 44.23±3.76 to 42.85±3.08 D(P=0.013) and Kmin decreased from 41.07±3.61 to 40.00±2.65 D(P=0.057). Corneal thickness decreased from 470±42 to 460±41 μm, but was statistically non-significant(P=0.063). Therefore, CXL is effective in halting and partially reversing the progression of postLASIK ectasia on the long-term(mean follow-up of more than 80mo), thus highlighting the stability and maintained effect of CXL for such cases.

Corneal collagen cross-linking in patients with keratoconus from the Dresden protocol to customized solutions:theoretical basis

Keratoconus is an ectatic condition characterized by gradual corneal thinning,corneal protrusion,progressive irregular astigmatism,corneal fibrosis,and visual impairment.The therapeutic options regarding improvement of visual function include glasses or soft contact lenses correction for initial stages,gas-permeable rigid contact lenses,scleral lenses,implantation of intrastromal corneal ring or corneal transplants for most advanced stages.In keratoconus cases showing disease progression corneal collagen crosslinking(CXL)has been proven to be an effective,minimally invasive and safe procedure.CXL consists of a photochemical reaction of corneal collagen by riboflavin stimulation with ultraviolet A radiation,resulting in stromal crosslinks formation.The aim of this review is to carry out an examination of CXL methods based on theoretical basis and mathematical models,from the original Dresden protocol to the most recent developments in the technique,reporting the changes proposed in the last 15y and examining the advantages and disadvantages of the various treatment protocols.Finally,the limits of non-standardized methods and the perspectives offered by a customization of the treatment are highlighted.

SHEL:a semantically enhanced hardware-friendly entity linking method

With the help of pre-trained language models,the accuracy of the entity linking task has made great strides in recent years.However,most models with excellent performance require fine-tuning on a large amount of training data using large pre-trained language models,which is a hardware threshold to accomplish this task.Some researchers have achieved competitive results with less training data through ingenious methods,such as utilizing information provided by the named entity recognition model.This paper presents a novel semantic-enhancement-based entity linking approach,named semantically enhanced hardware-friendly entity linking(SHEL),which is designed to be hardware friendly and efficient while maintaining good performance.Specifically,SHEL's semantic enhancement approach consists of three aspects:(1)semantic compression of entity descriptions using a text summarization model;(2)maximizing the capture of mention contexts using asymmetric heuristics;(3)calculating a fixed size mention representation through pooling operations.These series of semantic enhancement methods effectively improve the model's ability to capture semantic information while taking into account the hardware constraints,and significantly improve the model's convergence speed by more than 50%compared with the strong baseline model proposed in this paper.In terms of performance,SHEL is comparable to the previous method,with superior performance on six well-established datasets,even though SHEL is trained using a smaller pre-trained language model as the encoder.

Update understanding on diagnosis and histopathological examination of atrophic gastritis:A review

Chronic atrophic gastritis(CAG)is a complex syndrome in which long-term chronic inflammatory stimulation causes gland atrophy in the gastric mucosa,reducing the stomach's ability to secrete gastric juice and pepsin,and interfering with its normal physiological function.Multiple pathogenic factors contribute to CAG incidence,the most common being Helicobacter pylori infection and the immune reactions resulting from gastric autoimmunity.Furthermore,CAG has a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations,including gastroenterology and extraintestinal symptoms and signs,such as hematology,neurology,and oncology.Therefore,the initial CAG evaluation should involve the examination of clinical and serological indicators,as well as diagnosis confirmation via gastroscopy and histopathology if necessary.Depending on the severity and scope of atrophy affecting the gastric mucosa,a histologic staging system(Operative Link for Gastritis Assessment or Operative Link on Gastritis intestinal metaplasia)could also be employed.Moreover,chronic gastritis has a higher risk of progressing to gastric cancer(GC).In this regard,early diagnosis,treatment,and regular testing could reduce the risk of GC in CAG patients.However,the optimal interval for endoscopic monitoring in CAG patients remains uncertain,and it should ideally be tailored based on individual risk evaluations and shared decision-making processes.Although there have been many reports on CAG,the precise etiology and histopathological features of the disease,as well as the diagnosis of CAG patients,are yet to be fully elucidated.Consequently,this review offers a detailed account of CAG,including its key clinical aspects,aiming to enhance the overall understanding of the disease.

Unit-Linking PCNN中的彩色图像边缘检测

PCNN模型具有相似群神经元同步发放脉冲的特性,适合于图像分割。对彩色图像的亮度分量进行对数变换,使其更符合人眼的视觉特性;在PCNN进行彩色图像R、G、B三分量分割的过程中,利用遗传算法进行神经元关键参数的选择,利用偏态指标进行迭代控制;在Unit-Linking PCNN模型中实现R、G、B三分量分割图的边缘检测,利用加权合并策略得到最终的边缘检测结果。仿真结果表明,该方法得到的结果体现了图像中更多的轮廓细节,具有很好的自适应性。

A Brief Analysis of the Self-correction Model——from the View of Linking Theory

Based on the theory of the post method pedagogy and the teaching practice，this paper proposes a new teaching model，the self-correction model，and explains it from the point of view of linking theory.

Novel Mobility Formula for Parallel Mechanisms Expressed with Mobility of General Link Group

The determination of virtual constraints is always one of the key and difficult problems in traditional mobility calculation. To make mobility calculation simple, considering avoiding virtual constraints, some new formulae have been presented, however these formulae can hardly intuitively reflect general link group＇s restrictions on output member and its influences on independence of output parameters, which is premise to the judgment of the properties of mobility. Towards the problem to reveal the intrinsic relationship between the degree of freedom（DOF） of a mechanism, the link group, and the dimension of output parameters, also to avoid determination of virtual constraint, based on the new concepts of the ＂DOF of general link group＂ and ＂node parameters＂, a new formula in the calculation of the mobility of mechanisms is presented that is expressed with DOFs of the general link groups and rank of motion parameters of base point of the output link. It is named GOM（mobility of groups and output parameter） formula. On the basis of new concepts of＂effective parameters＂ and ＂invalid parameters＂, a rule is put forward for solving the DOF of mechanisms with invalid parameters by GOM formula, that is, the base point parameters are the subset of effective parameters of link group. Thereafter, several examples are enumerated and the results coincide with the prototype data, which proves the validity of the proposed formula. Meanwhile, it is obtained that the necessary and sufficient condition for the judgment of output parameters independence is that each of the DOF of the link group is not less than zero. The proposed formula which is simple in calculation provides theoretical basis for the judgment of independence of output parameters and provides references for type synthesis of novel parallel mechanisms with independence requirements of their output parameters.

Development and application of a multi-physics and multi-scale coupling program for lead-cooled fast reactor

In this study,a multi-physics and multi-scale coupling program,Fluent/KMC-sub/NDK,was developed based on the user-defined functions(UDF)of Fluent,in which the KMC-sub-code is a sub-channel thermal-hydraulic code and the NDK code is a neutron diffusion code.The coupling program framework adopts the"master-slave"mode,in which Fluent is the master program while NDK and KMC-sub are coupled internally and compiled into the dynamic link library(DLL)as slave codes.The domain decomposition method was adopted,in which the reactor core was simulated by NDK and KMC-sub,while the rest of the primary loop was simulated using Fluent.A simulation of the reactor shutdown process of M2LFR-1000 was carried out using the coupling program,and the code-to-code verification was performed with ATHLET,demonstrating a good agreement,with absolute deviation was smaller than 0.2%.The results show an obvious thermal stratification phenomenon during the shutdown process,which occurs 10 s after shutdown,and the change in thermal stratification phenomena is also captured by the coupling program.At the same time,the change in the neutron flux density distribution of the reactor was also obtained.

Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of organoboronic acids with N-protected 4-iodophenyl alanine linked isoxazoles

Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction of N-protected 4-iodopheyl alanine isoxazoles with arylboronic acids,catalyzed by palladium,efficiently produce benzyl-N-（4-bipheyl）-2-（3-methyl-5（E）-2-aryl-1-ethenyl-4-isoxazolyl）-amino-2-oxoethyl）carba- mates in good yields.This process is first of its kind to construct carbon-carbon bond formation having biaryl motif on amino acid linked isoxazole moiety.

RVFLN-based online adaptive semi-supervised learning algorithm with application to product quality estimation of industrial processes

Direct online measurement on product quality of industrial processes is difficult to be realized,which leads to a large number of unlabeled samples in modeling data.Therefore,it needs to employ semi-supervised learning(SSL)method to establish the soft sensor model of product quality.Considering the slow time-varying characteristic of industrial processes,the model parameters should be updated smoothly.According to this characteristic,this paper proposes an online adaptive semi-supervised learning algorithm based on random vector functional link network(RVFLN),denoted as OAS-RVFLN.By introducing a L2-fusion term that can be seen a weight deviation constraint,the proposed algorithm unifies the offline and online learning,and achieves smoothness of model parameter update.Empirical evaluations both on benchmark testing functions and datasets reveal that the proposed OAS-RVFLN can outperform the conventional methods in learning speed and accuracy.Finally,the OAS-RVFLN is applied to the coal dense medium separation process in coal industry to estimate the ash content of coal product,which further verifies its effectiveness and potential of industrial application.

Modeling online social networks based on preferential linking

We study the phenomena of preferential linking in a large-scale evolving online social network and find that the linear preference holds for preferential creation, preferential acceptance, and preferential attachment. Based on the linear preference, we propose an analyzable model, which illustrates the mechanism of network growth and reproduces the process of network evolution. Our simulations demonstrate that the degree distribution of the network produced by the model is in good agreement with that of the real network. This work provides a possible bridge between the micro=mechanisms of network growth and the macrostructures of online social networks.

A multi-attention RNN-based relation linking approach for question answering over knowledge base

Aiming at the relation linking task for question answering over knowledge base,especially the multi relation linking task for complex questions,a relation linking approach based on the multi-attention recurrent neural network(RNN)model is proposed,which works for both simple and complex questions.First,the vector representations of questions are learned by the bidirectional long short-term memory(Bi-LSTM)model at the word and character levels,and named entities in questions are labeled by the conditional random field(CRF)model.Candidate entities are generated based on a dictionary,the disambiguation of candidate entities is realized based on predefined rules,and named entities mentioned in questions are linked to entities in knowledge base.Next,questions are classified into simple or complex questions by the machine learning method.Starting from the identified entities,for simple questions,one-hop relations are collected in the knowledge base as candidate relations;for complex questions,two-hop relations are collected as candidates.Finally,the multi-attention Bi-LSTM model is used to encode questions and candidate relations,compare their similarity,and return the candidate relation with the highest similarity as the result of relation linking.It is worth noting that the Bi-LSTM model with one attentions is adopted for simple questions,and the Bi-LSTM model with two attentions is adopted for complex questions.The experimental results show that,based on the effective entity linking method,the Bi-LSTM model with the attention mechanism improves the relation linking effectiveness of both simple and complex questions,which outperforms the existing relation linking methods based on graph algorithm or linguistics understanding.

Correlation between corneal demarcation line depth in epithelium-off and trans-epithelium accelerated corneal cross linking and keratoconus progression

AIM:To compare corneal demarcation line(DL)depth in both accelerated epithelium-off and trans-epithelium cross linking(CXL)using anterior segment optical coherence tomography(AS-OCT)and its relation to maximum keratometry(Kmax)progression in both techniques.METHODS:A prospective comparative interventional study where patients with mild to moderate keratoconus(KC)were classified into two groups:accelerated epitheliumoff and trans-epithelium CXL based on corneal pachymetry.Assessment of corneal DL depth was carried out after 3mo by AS-OCT.Kmax readings were evaluated after one year follow up using the Scheimpflug imaging system.RESULTS:Study included 74 eyes of 44 patients.Group A underwent epithelium-off CXL(41 eyes),while Group B underwent trans-epithelium CXL(33 eyes).At 3mo follow up,mean corneal DL depth in Group A was 219.9±58.4μm while in Group B was 127.2±7.8μm(P<0.05).The mean Kmaxchangedfrom51.9±3.9to51.3±4.2dioptersin Group A and from 53.1±4.1 to 53.6±5 diopters in Group B with insignificant difference in Kmax changes in either group(P>0.05).In addition,no significant change in corneal pachymetry was found in both groups(meanchange at 1y:6.4±4.7 and-10.1±2.3μm in Groups A and B respectively).CONCLUSION:Despite a significantly deeper corneal DL depth created by accelerated epithelium-off CXL technique compared to accelerated trans-epithelium CXL,there is no significant impact on keratoconus progression.

Anti-Dead-Zone Integral Sliding Control and Active Vibration Suppression of a Free-floating Space Robot with Elastic Base and Flexible Links

Under the conditions of joint torque output dead-zone and external disturbance,the trajectory tracking and vibration suppression for a free-floating space robot(FFSR)system with elastic base and flexible links were discussed.First,using the Lagrange equation of the second kind,the dynamic model of the system was derived.Second,utilizing singular perturbation theory,a slow subsystem describing the rigid motion and a fast subsystem corresponding to flexible vibration were obtained.For the slow subsystem,when the width of deadzone is uncertain,a dead-zone pre-compensator was designed to eliminate the impact of joint torque output dead-zone,and an integral sliding mode neural network control was proposed.The integral sliding mode term can reduce the steady state error.For the fast subsystem,an optimal linear quadratic regulator(LQR)controller was adopted to damp out the vibration of the flexible links and elastic base simultaneously.Finally,computer simulations show the effectiveness of the compound control method.

Preparation of cross-linked enzyme aggregates of nitrile hydratase ES-NHT-118 from E.coli by macromolecular cross-linking agent

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates(CLEAs) of nitrile hydratase(NHase) ES-NHT-118 from Escherichia coli were prepared by using ammonium sulfate as precipitating agent followed by cross-linking with dextran polyaldehyde for the first time. In this process, egg white was added as protein feeder for facilitating the formation of CLEAs. The optimal conditions of the immobilization process were determined. Michaelis constants(Km) of free NHase and NHase CLEAs were also determined. The NHase CLEAs exhibited increased stability at varied pH and temperature conditions compared to its free counterpart. When exposed to high concentrations of acrylamide, NHase CLEAs also exhibited effective catalytic activity.

Accelerated versus standard corneal cross linking in the treatment of ectasia post refractive surgery and penetrating keratoplasty: a medium term randomized trial

AIM: To compare the clinical outcomes of the standard corneal cross linking(CXL) and the accelerated CXL in patients with progressive corneal ectasia post refractive surgery and penetrating keratoplasty.METHODS: Totally 120 eyes of 83 patients scheduled to receive either standard CXL(3 m W/cm^2 for a period of 30 min) or accelerated CXL(18 m W/cm2 for a period of 5 min). The main outcomes for comparison were the change in: maximum-K reading(K-max), manifest refractive spherical equivalent(SE), central corneal thickness(CCT), and the best corrected distance visual acuity(CDVA).RESULTS: One hundred and eleven eyes completed the study. The main outcome measurement was the K-max reading. Both group showed significant improvement in the value postoperatively at 6 and 12 mo. The mean change in the standard group was 1.21±0.11 D and in the accelerated group was 0.90±0.05 D at the end of 12 mo postoperatively, with no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups. Similarly, CDVA improved significantly from their preoperative value in the standard group by 2.98±0.11 letters, and in the accelerated group by 2.20±0.06 letters, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Both of the SE, and CCT showed no statistically significant difference at the end of follow up period in each group.CONCLUSION: Both standard CXL and accelerated CXL are safe and effective treatment in halting ectasia after corneal refractive surgery. The accelerated CXL results are comparable to the standard CXL with short time exposure of the cornea to ultraviolet irradiation, leading to reduced operation time, reduced operative ocular discomfort, and corneal haze.

Update on immunoglobulin A nephropathy, Part I: Pathophysiology

Immunoglobulin A （IgA） nephropathy is one of the most common glomerulonephritis and its frequency is probably underestimated because in most patients the disease has an indolent course and the kidney biopsy is essential for the diagnosis. In the last years its pathogenesis has been better identifed even if still now several questions remain to be answered. The genetic wide association studies have allowed to identifying the relevance of genetics and several putative genes have been identified. The genetics has also allowed explaining why some ancestral groups are affected with higher frequency. To date is clear that IgA nephropathy is related to auto antibodies against immunoglobulin A1 （IgA1） with poor O-glycosylation. The role of mucosal infections is confirmed, but which are the pathogens involved and which is the role of Toll-like receptor polymorphism is less clear. Similarly to date whether the disease is due to the circulating immunocomplexes deposition on the mesangium or whether the antigen is already present on the mesangial cell as a “lanthanic” deposition remains to be clarifed. Finally also the link between the mesangial and the podocyte injury and the tubulointerstitial scarring, as well as the mechanisms involved need to be better clarifed.

Periodic solutions of non-autonomous differential delay equations with superlinear properties

Abstract： The existence of periodic solutions of a class of non- autonomous differential delay equations with the form x′（t）=-∑k=1^n-1f（t,x（t-kr）） is considered, where r 〉 0 is a given constant and f∈C（R×R,R） is odd in x, r-periodic in t and satisfies some superlinear conditions at origin and at infinity. First, the delay system is changed to an equivalent Hamiltonian system. Then the existence of periodic solutions of the Hamiltonian system is studied. Periodic solutions of the Hamiltonian system can be obtained by critical points of a functional defined on a Hilbert space, i.e. , points satisfying φ′（z）=0. By using a linking theorem in critical point theory, the existence of critical points of the functional is obtained. Therefore, the existence of periodic solutions for the Hamiltonian system and its equivalent differential delay equation is established.

Linking China's emissions trading pilot schemes

All seven emissions trading pilots in China operate independently.One challenge facing most of them is the low inclusion thresholds for enterprises and the few total covered emissions,which negatively influences the effects of the emissions trading systems(ETSs).Some pilot sites,such as Guangdong,Hubei,Tianjin and Beijing,have indicated their willingness to link their schemes with others.ETS linking could expand scheme coverages and therefore help to reduce the overall costs of achieving the linked schemes' emissions control targets.Linking could also help to address the issues of carbon leakage and reduce price fluctuations.The potential benefits and feasibility of linking different pilot systems are analyzed in this article.The seven pilot regions are at different stages of social and economic development,with significant differences in total emissions and emissions structures as well as carbon abatement potentials and costs.Through linking,more-developed regions such as Beijing,Shanghai and Shenzhen,which are typically considered to face higher mitigation costs,will have the opportunity to achieve their emissions control targets by purchasing carbon units from less-developed regions,which will earn financial revenues from selling the units.To realize this win-win result,a series of policy and technical barriers at both the central government and pilot government levels needs to be overcome.Establishing a unified national emissions trading market would appear to be the ideal solution to these challenges,but it will take considerable time and will not be the short-term solution.In the absence of a unified national scheme,it is recommended that the central government encourage pilot schemes to link,that it develops corresponding national policies to support the linking efforts and that the pilot schemes that are intended to be linked coordinate on certain design elements.Based on the coordinating need,the major elements of an ETS can be divided into four categories:elements that need mutual recognition(cap setting and allowance allocation methods);elements that should be completely identical(compliance mechanisms,price containment measures,banking and borrowing rules,and offset mechanisms);technical elements that are preferably identical and easy to coordinate(MRV standards,technical registry standards);and elements that require no coordination(coverages and scopes).

Self-Supervised Entity Alignment Based on Multi-Modal Contrastive Learning

Dear Editor,This letter proposes an unsupervised entity alignment method,which realizes integration of multiple multi-modal knowledge graphs adaptively.In recent years,Large-scale multi-modal knowledge graphs(LMKGs),containing text and image,have been widely applied in numerous knowledge-driven topics,such as question answering,entity linking,information extraction,reasoning and recommendation.