Women in visual neural regeneration research

The year 2024 marks the 60^(th)anniversary of Title IX and 25 years since the New York Times revealed bias against female faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.We take an opportunity here to examine the state of gender bias in a relatively new yet already prominent field,neural regeneration in the visual system,for which there is a well-defined context useful for this purpose.The National Eye Institute(NEI)provided the first round of research funding for its Audacious Goals Initiative(AGI)on visual neural regeneration in 2013 and the last round in 2021.Therefore,we focus on this timespan.Data sources included PubMed,the National Science Foundation(NSF),the NEI,the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research and data from the major professional organization for eye and vision research,the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology(ARVO).

Global trends and hotspots of type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents:A bibliometric study and visualization analysis

BACKGROUND Epidemiological surveys indicate an increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)among children and adolescents worldwide.Due to rapid disease progression,severe long-term cardiorenal complications,a lack of effective treatment strategies,and substantial socioeconomic burdens,it has become an urgent public health issue that requires management and resolution.Adolescent T2DM differs from adult T2DM.Despite a significant increase in our understanding of youth-onset T2DM over the past two decades,the related review and evidence-based content remain limited.AIM To visualize the hotspots and trends in pediatric and adolescent T2DM research and to forecast their future research themes.METHODS This study utilized the terms“children”,“adolescents”,and“type 2 diabetes”,retrieving relevant articles published between 1983 and 2023 from three citation databases within the Web of Science Core Collection(SCI,SSCI,ESCI).Utilizing CiteSpace and VoSviewer software,we analyze and visually represent the annual output of literature,countries involved,and participating institutions.This allows us to predict trends in this research field.Our analysis encompasses co-cited authors,journal overlays,citation overlays,time-zone views,keyword analysis,and reference analysis,etc.RESULTS A total of 9210 articles were included,and the annual publication volume in this field showed a steady growth trend.The United States had the highest number of publications and the highest H-index.The United States also had the most research institutions and the strongest research capacity.The global hot journals were primarily diabetes professional journals but also included journals related to nutrition,endocrinology,and metabolism.Keyword analysis showed that research related to endothelial dysfunction,exposure risk,cardiac metabolic risk,changes in gut microbiota,the impact on comorbidities and outcomes,etc.,were emerging keywords.They have maintained their popularity in this field,suggesting that these areas have garnered significant research interest in recent years.CONCLUSION Pediatric and adolescent T2DM is increasingly drawing global attention,with genes,behaviors,environmental factors,and multisystemic interventions potentially emerging as future research hot spots.

Challenges in the management of visual and tactile hallucinations in elderly people

This letter provides a concise review of the pertinent literature on visual and tactile hallucinations in elderly patients.The discussion addresses differential diagnoses and potential underlying mechanisms,as well as the psychopathology associated with tactile hallucinations,and emphasizes the necessity for invest-igation into the possibility of coexisting delusional infestation(parasitosis).These symptoms frequently manifest in patients with primary psychotic disorders,organic mental disorders,and substance use disorders.The proposed pathophy-siological mechanisms may involve dopaminergic imbalances and dysfunction of the striatal dopamine transporter.

Visualizing medicine:The case for implementing graphical abstracts in clinical reporting

Graphical abstracts(GAs)are emerging as a pivotal tool in medical literature,enhancing the dissemination and comprehension of complex clinical data through visual summaries.This editorial highlights the significant advantages of GAs,including improved clarity,increased reader engagement,and enhanced visibility of research findings.By transforming intricate scientific data into accessible visual formats,these abstracts facilitate quick and effective knowledge transfer,crucial in clinical decision-making and patient care.However,challenges such as potential data misrepresentation due to oversimplification,the skill gap in graphic design among researchers,and the lack of standardized creation guidelines pose barriers to their widespread adoption.Additionally,while software such as Adobe Illustrator,BioRender,and Canva are commonly employed to create these visuals,not all researchers may be proficient in their use.To address these issues,we recommend that academic journals establish clear guidelines and provide necessary design training to researchers.This proactive approach will ensure the creation of high-quality GAs,promote their standardization,and expand their use in clinical reporting,ultimately benefiting the medical community and improving healthcare outcomes.

Visual Modflow在和田县农业经济新区地下水资源评价中的应用

为全面了解地下水系统受各种激励因素影响后的水动力场和地下水量变化规律,以及为当地地下水资源开发与利用提供科学的指导意见,本次在和田县农业经济新区地下水资源评价中采用可视化标准软件Visnal Modflow实现地下水资源的模拟与预报,通过构建三维非稳定流数值模型,使用迭代方法求解,并根据设计开采量对地下水水位变动做出预测,再基于建模预测结果,结合经济新区地下水资源量确定合理的地下水开采量。

Monogenic gene therapy for glaucoma and optic nerve injury

The prevalence of glaucoma, the second leading cause of global blindness, is increasing due to aging populations. In glaucoma, degeneration of the optic nerve and retinal ganglion cells(RGCs) causes visual field defects and eventual blindness.

Visual Semantic Segmentation Based on Few/Zero-Shot Learning:An Overview

Visual semantic segmentation aims at separating a visual sample into diverse blocks with specific semantic attributes and identifying the category for each block,and it plays a crucial role in environmental perception.Conventional learning-based visual semantic segmentation approaches count heavily on largescale training data with dense annotations and consistently fail to estimate accurate semantic labels for unseen categories.This obstruction spurs a craze for studying visual semantic segmentation with the assistance of few/zero-shot learning.The emergence and rapid progress of few/zero-shot visual semantic segmentation make it possible to learn unseen categories from a few labeled or even zero-labeled samples,which advances the extension to practical applications.Therefore,this paper focuses on the recently published few/zero-shot visual semantic segmentation methods varying from 2D to 3D space and explores the commonalities and discrepancies of technical settlements under different segmentation circumstances.Specifically,the preliminaries on few/zeroshot visual semantic segmentation,including the problem definitions,typical datasets,and technical remedies,are briefly reviewed and discussed.Moreover,three typical instantiations are involved to uncover the interactions of few/zero-shot learning with visual semantic segmentation,including image semantic segmentation,video object segmentation,and 3D segmentation.Finally,the future challenges of few/zero-shot visual semantic segmentation are discussed.

基于Visual MODFLOW模型的LID设施对地下水调蓄关系研究

海绵城市建设能够增加自然降水对地下水的回补,减少城市开发对自然环境的破坏。然而,现有研究多集中于单一或典型LID设施,缺乏对大尺度和长周期海绵城市建设对整体地下水水位变化影响的探讨。论文基于Visual MODFLOW模型模拟了LID设施建设前后的研究区地下水水位动态。结果显示,LID建设典型区埋深上升0~2 m,降水对潜水的补给量增加了1.83%。这表明LID设施在局部区域能够显著增强降水对地下水的回补,但对整体地下水位的动态影响不明显。

Heterogeneous Image Knowledge Driven Visual Perception

Dear Editor,This letter is concerned with visual perception closely related to heterogeneous images.Facing the huge challenge brought by different image modalities,we propose a visual perception framework based on heterogeneous image knowledge,i.e.,the domain knowledge associated with specific vision tasks,to better address the corresponding visual perception problems.

基于Visual MODFLOW大水矿山深部开采矿坑涌水量预测

矿产资源的不断开发导致矿坑涌、突水现象愈加频繁,此类问题多发生于大水矿山,为更好指导大水矿山深部开采工作,准确预测矿山深部开采矿坑涌水量至关重要。结合某矿区勘察资料、水文地质条件和观测井实测水位数据,利用Visual MODFLOW软件建立矿区水文地质数值模型,进行稳态与非稳态校正以及相关参数敏感性分析;根据该矿区-150 m水平矿坑真实涌水量拟合分析Drain模块水力传导系数值,运用识别后模型对矿山深部开采矿坑涌水量预测,结果表明-200、-250、-300、-350 m等不同水平矿坑正常涌水量为17209.82、18896.20、21299.31、23494.10 m^(3)/d,预测结果可为矿山防治水工作提供依据,以及为工程安全开挖提供保障。

Comprehensive bibliometric analysis of pharmacotherapy for bipolar disorders:Present trends and future directions

BACKGROUND Bipolar disorder(BD)is a severe mental illness characterized by significant mood swings.Effective drug treatment modalities are crucial for managing BD.AIM To analyze the current status and future trends of global research on BD drug treatment over the last decade.METHODS The Web of Science Core Collection database spanning from 2015 to 2024 was utilized to retrieve literature related to BD drug treatment.A total of 2624 articles were extracted.Data visualization and analysis were conducted using CiteSpace,VOSviewer,Pajek,Scimago Graphica,and R-studio bibliometrix to identify RESULTS The United States,China,and the United Kingdom have made the most significant contributions to research on BD drug treatment and formed notable research collaboration networks.The University of Pittsburgh,Massachusetts General Hospital,and the University of Michigan have been identified as the major research institutions in this field.The Journal of Affective Disorders is the most influential journal.A keyword analysis revealed research hotspots related to clinical symptoms,drug efficacy,and genetic mechanisms.A citation analysis identified the management guidelines published by Yatham et al in 2018 as the most cited paper.CONCLUSION This study provides a detailed overview of the field of BD drug treatment,highlighting key contributors,research hotspots,and future directions.The study findings can be employed as a reference for future research and policymaking,which may enable further development and optimization of BD pharmacotherapy.

Prevalence of visual impairment and estimation of refractive errors among school children in Kakamega,Kenya

AIM:To investigate the prevalence of visual impairment(VI)and provide an estimation of uncorrected refractive errors in school-aged children,conducted by optometry students as a community service.METHODS:The study was cross-sectional.Totally 3343 participants were included in the study.The initial examination involved assessing the uncorrected distance visual acuity(UDVA)and visual acuity(VA)while using a+2.00 D lens.The inclusion criteria for a subsequent comprehensive cycloplegic eye examination,performed by an optometrist,were as follows:a UDVA<0.6 decimal(0.20 logMAR)and/or a VA with+2.00 D≥0.8 decimal(0.96 logMAR).RESULTS:The sample had a mean age of 10.92±2.13y(range 4 to 17y),and 51.3%of the children were female(n=1715).The majority of the children(89.7%)fell within the age range of 8 to 14y.Among the ethnic groups,the highest representation was from the Luhya group(60.6%)followed by Luo(20.4%).Mean logMAR UDVA choosing the best eye for each student was 0.29±0.17(range 1.70 to 0.22).Out of the total,246 participants(7.4%)had a full eye examination.The estimated prevalence of myopia(defined as spherical equivalent≤-0.5 D)was found to be 1.45%of the total sample.While around 0.18%of the total sample had hyperopia value exceeding+1.75 D.Refractive astigmatism(cil<-0.75 D)was found in 0.21%(7/3343)of the children.The VI prevalence was 1.26%of the total sample.Among our cases of VI,76.2%could be attributed to uncorrected refractive error.Amblyopia was detected in 0.66%(22/3343)of the screened children.There was no statistically significant correlation observed between age or gender and refractive values.CONCLUSION:The primary cause of VI is determined to be uncorrected refractive errors,with myopia being the most prevalent refractive error observed.These findings underscore the significance of early identification and correction of refractive errors in school-aged children as a means to alleviate the impact of VI.

Multisensory mechanisms of gait and balance in Parkinson’s disease:an integrative review

Understanding the neural underpinning of human gait and balance is one of the most pertinent challenges for 21st-century translational neuroscience due to the profound impact that falls and mobility disturbances have on our aging population.Posture and gait control does not happen automatically,as previously believed,but rather requires continuous involvement of central nervous mechanisms.To effectively exert control over the body,the brain must integrate multiple streams of sensory information,including visual,vestibular,and somatosensory signals.The mechanisms which underpin the integration of these multisensory signals are the principal topic of the present work.Existing multisensory integration theories focus on how failure of cognitive processes thought to be involved in multisensory integration leads to falls in older adults.Insufficient emphasis,however,has been placed on specific contributions of individual sensory modalities to multisensory integration processes and cross-modal interactions that occur between the sensory modalities in relation to gait and balance.In the present work,we review the contributions of somatosensory,visual,and vestibular modalities,along with their multisensory intersections to gait and balance in older adults and patients with Parkinson’s disease.We also review evidence of vestibular contributions to multisensory temporal binding windows,previously shown to be highly pertinent to fall risk in older adults.Lastly,we relate multisensory vestibular mechanisms to potential neural substrates,both at the level of neurobiology(concerning positron emission tomography imaging)and at the level of electrophysiology(concerning electroencephalography).We hope that this integrative review,drawing influence across multiple subdisciplines of neuroscience,paves the way for novel research directions and therapeutic neuromodulatory approaches,to improve the lives of older adults and patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Morphological disruption and visual tuning alterations in the primary visual cortex in glaucoma(DBA/2J)mice

Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreve rsible blindness wo rldwide,and previous studies have shown that,in addition to affecting the eyes,it also causes abnormalities in the brain.However,it is not yet clear how the primary visual cortex(V1)is altered in glaucoma.This study used DBA/2J mice as a model for spontaneous secondary glaucoma.The aim of the study was to compare the electrophysiological and histomorphological chara cteristics of neurons in the V1between 9-month-old DBA/2J mice and age-matched C57BL/6J mice.We conducted single-unit recordings in the V1 of light-anesthetized mice to measure the visually induced responses,including single-unit spiking and gamma band oscillations.The morphology of layerⅡ/Ⅲneurons was determined by neuronal nuclear antigen staining and Nissl staining of brain tissue sections.Eighty-seven neurons from eight DBA/2J mice and eighty-one neurons from eight C57BL/6J mice were examined.Compared with the C57BL/6J group,V1 neurons in the DBA/2J group exhibited weaker visual tuning and impaired spatial summation.Moreove r,fewer neuro ns were observed in the V1 of DBA/2J mice compared with C57BL/6J mice.These findings suggest that DBA/2J mice have fewer neurons in the VI compared with C57BL/6J mice,and that these neurons have impaired visual tuning.Our findings provide a better understanding of the pathological changes that occur in V1 neuron function and morphology in the DBA/2J mouse model.This study might offer some innovative perspectives regarding the treatment of glaucoma.

A Concise and Varied Visual Features-Based Image Captioning Model with Visual Selection

Image captioning has gained increasing attention in recent years.Visual characteristics found in input images play a crucial role in generating high-quality captions.Prior studies have used visual attention mechanisms to dynamically focus on localized regions of the input image,improving the effectiveness of identifying relevant image regions at each step of caption generation.However,providing image captioning models with the capability of selecting the most relevant visual features from the input image and attending to them can significantly improve the utilization of these features.Consequently,this leads to enhanced captioning network performance.In light of this,we present an image captioning framework that efficiently exploits the extracted representations of the image.Our framework comprises three key components:the Visual Feature Detector module(VFD),the Visual Feature Visual Attention module(VFVA),and the language model.The VFD module is responsible for detecting a subset of the most pertinent features from the local visual features,creating an updated visual features matrix.Subsequently,the VFVA directs its attention to the visual features matrix generated by the VFD,resulting in an updated context vector employed by the language model to generate an informative description.Integrating the VFD and VFVA modules introduces an additional layer of processing for the visual features,thereby contributing to enhancing the image captioning model’s performance.Using the MS-COCO dataset,our experiments show that the proposed framework competes well with state-of-the-art methods,effectively leveraging visual representations to improve performance.The implementation code can be found here:https://github.com/althobhani/VFDICM(accessed on 30 July 2024).

Bioactive material promotes longdistance regeneration of optic nerve to restore visual functions

Visual system is vital to human beings.Unfortunately,the optic nerve lacks the ability to regenerate after injury.Therefo re,long-distance regeneration of the optic nerve is a major unsolved medical problem in the world(Laha et al.,2017).Recently,Li and So groups' study showed that the bioactive material(ciliary neurotrophic factor[CNTF]-chitosan) could promote long-distance regeneration of the completely transected optic nerve in adult rats and partially restored the visual functions(Liu et al.,2023).This study sheds light on the clinical potential for repairing the severely injured optic nerve.

Effect of capsule treatment on visual acuity and quality after phacoemulsification lens implantation in myopic patients with cataract

BACKGROUND Cataracts pose a significant clinical burden due to their complex pathogenesis.In recent years,an increase in cataracts coexisting with myopia has heightened the incidence of retinopathy and posterior vitreous detachment.Additionally,symptoms of ocular axis elongation,lens nucleus hardening,and vitreous liquefaction have become more prevalent.While conventional extracapsular cataract extraction is commonly employed,it often yields suboptimal visual outcomes.Subsequent advancements in cataract phacoemulsification and lens implantation surgeries have gained widespread acceptance for their ability to improve refraction and significantly improve uncorrected visual acuity.AIM To investigate the effect of capsular treatment after phacoemulsification lens implantation in myopic patients with cataract.METHODS We selected 110 patients(with 134 eyes)with myopia and cataracts treated.These patients were categorized into two groups:an observation group(57 patients with 70 eyes)and a control group(53 patients with 64 eyes).The control group underwent cataract phacoemulsification and lens implantation,while the observation group received a refined capsular treatment based on the control group’s procedure.We assessed the differences in visual acuity and quality between the two groups before and after surgery.RESULTS At six months post-operation,the observation group exhibited significantly improved far vision,intermediate vision,near vision,lower objective scattering index,higher Modulation transfer function cut-off frequency,and overall vision metrics at different contrast levels(100%,20%and 9%)compared to the control group(P<0.05).The total score of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire in the observation group at 6 months after operation was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).No significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions was observed between the observation group and control group(P>0.05).CONCLUSION Capsular treatment demonstrates efficacy in improving visual acuity and quality after phacoemulsification lens implantation in myopic patients with cataracts,warranting its clinical application.

RMPC-Based Visual Servoing for Trajectory Tracking of Quadrotor UAVs With Visibility Constraints

Dear Editor,This letter deals with the tracking problem of quadrotors subject to external disturbances and visibility constraints by designing a robust model predictive control(RMPC) scheme. According to the imagebased visual servoing(IBVS) method, a virtual camera is constructed to express image moments of the tracking target.

Visualizing mitochondrial dynamics at the nanoscale

The study of mitochondria is a formidable challenge for super-resolution microscopy due to their dynamic nature and complex membrane architecture.In this issue,Ren et al.introduce HBmito Crimson,a fluorogenic and photostable mitochondrial probe for STED microscopy and investigate how mitochondrial dynamics influence the spatial organization of mitochondrial DNA.

A New Perspective in the Study of Medical History through Visuals

In pre-modern cultural history,both textual and visual documentation played crucial roles,each possessing its own narrative logic.Historically,text has been a dominant medium for cultural documentation,whereas images,which predate text,have often been undervalued.