Association of IL-6-572 polymorphism with sepsis: An updated meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

To analyze the relationship between IL and 6 572C/G polymorphism with sepsis.

METHODS

Searching 8 databases the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine (CBM), Chongqing VIP, Embase, PubMed, WanFang Data, and Web of Science from inception to October 1, 2023. Meta-analysis was performed by using Review Manager 5.4 and STATA 15.0.

RESULTS

9 studies were included, 1 study was excluded from the previous meta-analysis, and 6 studies were added. Sensitivity analysis suggested that the results were relatively robust. The P values of Egger test indicated that no conspicuous publication bias was found.

CONCLUSION

According to the meta-analysis results of existing studies, the IL-6 572C/G GG genotype and G allele are risk factors for sepsis, this result changes the previous conclusion that the IL-6 572 polymorphism is not related to sepsis. However, the results still need to be conservatively treated due to the sample size was not large enough.

Perceptual learning changes the amplitude not the shape of the temporal window of visual processing

Perceptual learning (PL) can significantly improve human performance in perceptual tasks primarily through template reweighting. Previous studies have documented how PL changes perceptual template in stimulus feature space. We investigated how PL reweights visual information in time. With a dynamic external noise paradigm and the elaborated perceptual template model (ePTM) analysis, we found that training with an orientation identification task in the zero external noise condition reduced contrast thresholds in both zero and high external noise conditions, whereas training in the high external noise condition only reduced contrast thresholds in high external noise conditions. The ePTM analysis showed that training in both zero and high external noise changed the overall amplitude, but not the shape of the temporal window of the perceptual template to exclude external noise across time, and training in zero external noise additionally reduced additive internal noise. Our results provided additional constraints for models of PL. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Effect of myopia-control lenses on central and peripheral visual performance in myopic children

PURPOSE

To evaluate the short-term effects of three myopia-control lenses, which impose peripheral myopic defocus while providing clear central vision, on central and peripheral visual performance in myopic children.

METHODS

Twenty-one myopic children were enrolled in the study. Central visual performance was assessed using the quick contrast sensitivity function. Peripheral visual performance was evaluated by measuring peripheral contrast threshold and global motion perception, while subjects maintained fixation through the central portion of the lens. Single-vision spectacle lenses (SVL), spectacle lenses with highly aspherical lenslets (HAL) and defocus-incorporated soft contact (DISC) lenses were evaluated in random order, followed by orthokeratology (OK) lenses. All tests were performed monocularly on the right eye.

RESULTS

The area under the log contrast sensitivity function (AULCSF) with DISC lenses was lower than that with SVL (1.14 vs. 1.40, p < 0.001) and HAL (1.14 vs. 1.33, p = 0.001). HAL increased the temporal visual field contrast threshold compared with OK lenses (p = 0.04), and OK lenses decreased the superior visual field contrast threshold compared with that of SVL (p = 0.04) and HAL (p = 0.005). HAL also increased the peripheral coherence threshold for identifying the contraction movement compared with OK lenses (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The short-term use of these optical interventions for myopia control exhibited measurable differences in central and peripheral visual performance. Relevant attention could be paid to these differences, especially when children switch to different treatments. DISC lenses exhibited worse central contrast sensitivity than SVL and HAL. Imposing peripheral defocus signals did not affect children's peripheral visual performance compared with SVL. However, considering the poorer peripheral visual performance provided by HAL, OK lenses are recommended for children if there are specific demands for global scene recognition and motion perception.

Association between the trajectory of ideal cardiovascular health metrics and incident chronic kidney disease among 27,635 older adults in northern China-a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of relevant studies evaluating the long-term impact of cardiovascular health factor (CVH) metrics on chronic kidney disease (CKD).

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the long-term change in CVH metrics in older people and explores the relationship between CVH metrics trajectory and CKD.

METHODS

In total, 27,635 older people aged over 60 from the community-based Tianjin Chronic Kidney Disease Cohort study were enrolled. The participants completed five annual physical examinations between January 01, 2014, and December 31, 2018, and a subsequent follow-up between January 01, 2019, and December 31, 2021. CVH metrics trajectories were established by the group-based trajectory model to predict CKD risk. The relationships between baseline CVH, CVH change (ΔCVH), and CKD risk were also explored by logistic regression and restricted cubic spline regression model. In addition, likelihood ratio tests were used to compare the goodness of fit of the different models.

RESULTS

Six distinct CVH metrics trajectories were identified among the participants: low-stable (11.19%), low-medium-stable (30.58%), medium-stable (30.54%), medium-high-decreased (5.46%), medium-high-stable (18.93%), and high-stable (3.25%). After adjustment for potential confounders, higher CVH metrics trajectory was associated with decreased risk of CKD (P for trend < 0.001). Comparing the high-stable with the low-stable group, the risk of CKD decreased by 46%. All sensitivity analyses, including adjusting for baseline CVH and removing each CVH component from the total CVH, produced consistent results. Furthermore, the likelihood ratio test revealed that the model established by the CVH trajectory fit better than the baseline CVH and Δ CVH.

CONCLUSION

The higher CVH metrics trajectory and improvement of CVH metrics were associated with decreased risk of CKD. This study emphasized the importance of improving CVH to achieve primary prevention of CKD in older people.

Mast cell in infantile hemangioma

Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most common benign vascular tumor characterized by three phases - proliferation, early involution and late involution. Mast cells (MCs) play an important role in allergic reactions and numerous diseases, including tumors. While the mechanisms underlying MCs migration, activation and function in the life cycle of IH remain unclear, previous studies suggested that MCs circulate through the vasculature and migrate into IH, and subsequently mature and get activated. Estradiol (E2) emerges as a potential attractant for MC migration into IH and their subsequent activation. In various stages of IH, activated MCs secrete both proangiogenic and anti-angiogenic modulators, absorbed by various cells adjacent to them. Imbalances in these modulators may contribute to IH proliferation and involution.

Model and online calculator for prediction of fistula maturation based on vein dilation and age: A retrospective cohort study in a single-center

OBJECTIVE

A model that considers the characteristics of dialysis patients may help predict successful fistula maturation. We evaluated factors associated with radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula (RCAVF) maturation at 3 months in dialysis patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

METHODS

A total of 184 patients who received an initial RCAVF at Beijing Haidian Hospital (Haidian Section of Peking University Third Hospital) were recruited. Fistula maturation was assessed within 3 months. Patient characteristics and preoperative vascular assessment indices were examined. Factors associated with fistula maturation were analyzed using logistic regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) binary logistic regression. Boostrapping was used for internal validation.

RESULTS

The development data consisted of 184 ESRD patients receiving an initial RCAVF, 140 (76%) of whom achieved fistula maturation. The main predictors of RCAVF maturation in the final model were sex, age-adjusted vein dilation (eVD), radial artery volume (Vartery), and diastolic blood pressure. The difference of vein diameter with and without a tourniquet was significantly larger in the mature RCAVF group (3.0 ± 0.5 vs. 2.2 ± 0.5 mm). The area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for prediction of fistula maturation was 0.77, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic indicated agreement between observed and predicted values (P = 0.792). Analysis of internal validation using bootstrapping indicated the C-index was 0.75.

CONCLUSION

The ratio of vein dilation and age were the major predictors of fistula maturation at 3 months in our patients. The resulting online prediction model may help in clinical decision-making for patients receiving a RCAVF.

Safety and effectiveness of metformin plus lifestyle intervention compared with lifestyle intervention alone in preventing progression to diabetes in a Chinese population with impaired glucose regulation: a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Impaired glucose regulation (defined as either impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose) is an important risk factor for the development of diabetes. We aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of metformin plus lifestyle intervention compared with lifestyle intervention alone in preventing diabetes in Chinese participants with impaired glucose regulation.

METHODS

We did a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial at 43 endocrinology departments in general hospitals across China. Eligible participants were individuals with impaired glucose regulation (ie, impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose, or both), men or women aged 18-70 years with a BMI of 21-32 kg/m2. Eligible participants were randomly assigned (1:1) via a computer-generated randomisation to receive either standard lifestyle intervention alone or metformin (850 mg orally once per day for the first 2 weeks and titrated to 1700 mg orally per day [850 mg twice per day]) plus lifestyle intervention. Block randomisation was used with a block size of four, stratified by glucose status (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance), hypertension, and use of any anti-hypertensive medication. Lifestyle intervention advice was given by investigators at all participating sites. The primary endpoint was the incidence of newly diagnosed diabetes at the end of the 2-year follow-up. Analysis was done using the full analysis set and per-protocol set. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03441750, and is completed.

FINDINGS

Between April, 2017, and June, 2019, 3881 individuals were assessed for eligibility, of which 1678 (43·2%) participants were randomly assigned to either the metformin plus lifestyle intervention group (n=831) or the lifestyle intervention alone group (n=847) and received the allocated intervention at least once. During a median follow-up of 2·03 years, the incidence rate of diabetes was 17·27 (95% CI 15·19-19·56) per 100 person-years in the metformin plus lifestyle intervention group and 19·83 (17·67-22·18) per 100 person-years in the lifestyle intervention alone group. The metformin plus lifestyle intervention group showed a 17% lower risk of developing diabetes than the lifestyle intervention alone group (HR 0·83 [95% CI 0·70-0·99]; log-rank p=0·043). A higher proportion of participants in the metformin plus lifestyle intervention group reported adverse events than in the lifestyle intervention alone group, primarily due to more gastrointestinal adverse events. The percentage of participants reporting a serious adverse event was similar in both groups.

INTERPRETATION

Metformin plus lifestyle intervention further reduced the risk of developing diabetes than lifestyle intervention alone in Chinese people with impaired glucose regulation, showing additional benefits of combined intervention in preventing progression to diabetes without new safety concerns.

FUNDING

Merck Serono China, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

TRANSLATION

For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Preoperative contrast-enhanced CT-based radiomics signature for predicting hypoxia-inducible factor 1α expression in retroperitoneal sarcoma

AIM

To develop and test a contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT)-based radiomics signature (RS) to preoperatively predict hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) expression in retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study included 129 patients with RPS retrospectively who underwent CECT, including 64 male and 65 female patients (55 [2-84] years). Participants were divided into a training set comprising 85 patients and a test set comprising 44 patients. Clinical data and CECT findings of all patients were collected. RS construction was performed by the minimum redundancy maximum relevance method and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm. The clinical information was analysed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The RS and risk factors were included to build a radiomics nomogram. The predictive efficacy of different models was evaluated by accuracy, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and decision curve analysis.

RESULTS

The RS combined signature was constructed on the basis of multi-phase CECT and had an accuracy of 0.795 and an AUC of 0.719 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.552-0.886) in the test set, which were higher than that of the radiomics nomogram (accuracy: 0.636; AUC: 0.702 [95% CI, 0.547-0.857]) and the clinical model (accuracy: 0.682; AUC: 0.486 [95% CI, 0.324-0.647]). The decision curve analysis showed that the RS combined signature provided better clinical application than the clinical model and radiomics nomogram.

CONCLUSIONS

The multi-phase CECT-based RS constructed can be used as a powerful tool for predicting HIF-1α expression in patients with RPS.

Fabrication of superhydrophilic porous carbon materials through a porogen-free method: Surface and structure modification promoting the two-electron oxygen reduction activity

HYPOTHESIS

Electrochemical manufacture of H₂O₂ through the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e^- ORR), providing prospects of the distributed production of H₂O₂ in remote regions, is considered a promising alternative to the energy-intensive anthraquinone oxidation process.

EXPERIMENTS

In this study, one glucose-derived oxygen-enriched porous carbon material (labeled as HGC₅₀₀) is developed through a porogen-free strategy integrating structural and active site modification.

FINDINGS

The superhydrophilic surface and porous structure together promote the mass transfer of reactants and accessibility of active sites in the aqueous reaction, while the abundant CO species (e.g., aldehyde groups) are taken for the main active site to facilitate the 2e^- ORR catalytic process. Benefiting from the above merits, the obtained HGC₅₀₀ possesses superior performance with a selectivity of 92 % and mass activity of 43.6 A g_cat^-1 at 0.65 V (vs. RHE). Besides, the HGC₅₀₀ can operate steadily for 12 h with the accumulation of H₂O₂ reaching up to 4090±71 ppm and a Faradic efficiency of 95 %. The H₂O₂ generated from the electrocatalytic process in 3 h can degrade a variety of organic pollutants (10 ppm) in 4-20 min, displaying the potential in practical applications.

Decomposing the Response Time in Amblyopia: A Drift Diffusion Model Analysis

Purpose

Amblyopes are known to have delayed response times (RT) in various visual tasks. We aim to investigate whether any factor other than the sensory deficit contributes to the delayed RT in amblyopia.

Method

Fifteen amblyopic (26.0 ± 4.50 years) and 15 normal (25.6 ± 2.90 years) participants took part in this study. The responses and RTs in an orientation identification task were collected for each participant with stimulus contrast adjusted to the multiples of individual's threshold. A drift diffusion model was used to fit to the response and RT data and to estimate the RT components.

Result

There was a significant difference in the RT between the amblyopic and normal groups (F(1, 28) = 6.75, P = 0.015) but no difference in the accuracy (F(1, 28) = 0.028, P = 0.868). The drift rate function in the amblyopic eye had a larger threshold (P = 0.001) and shallower slope (P = 0.006) than that of the fellow eye. The amblyopic group has a longer non-decision time than the normal group (F(1, 28) = 8.02, P = 0.008). The drift rate threshold correlated with the contrast sensitivity (P = 1.71 × 10-18) but the non-decision time did not (P = 0.393).

Conclusions

Both sensory and post-sensory factors contributed to the delayed RT in amblyopia. The effect of the sensory loss in V1 on RT can be compensated by increasing stimulus contrast, and the post-sensory delay provides evidence for higher-level deficits in amblyopia.

The Effects of Orthoptic Therapy on the Surgical Outcome in Children with Intermittent Exotropia: Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND

To assess the clinical effectiveness of orthoptic therapy in the postoperative stabilisation and rehabilitation of binocular function in children with intermittent exotropia (IXT) after surgery.

METHODS

This was a prospective, parallel, randomised controlled trial. A total of 136 IXT patients (aged from 7 to 17 years) who had been successfully corrected at 1 month after surgery were enrolled in this study, and 117 patients (58 controls) completed the 12-month follow-up visit. The primary outcome was established as the proportion of patients with suboptimal surgical outcomes, which were defined as: (1) exodeviation ≥10 prism diopters (PD) at distance or near using the simultaneous prism and cover test (SPCT), or (2) constant esotropia ≥6 PD at distance or near using SPCT, or (3) loss of 2 or more octaves of stereopsis from baseline. The secondary outcomes were the exodeviation at distance and near using the prism and alternate cover test (PACT), stereopsis, fusional exotropia control and convergence amplitude.

RESULTS

The cumulative probability of suboptimal surgical outcome by 12 months was 20.5% (14/68) in the orthoptic therapy group and 42.6% (29/68) in the control group. There was a significant difference between these two groups (χ² = 7.402, p = 0.007). Improvements in stereopsis, fusional exotropia control and fusional convergence amplitude were found in the orthoptic therapy group. A smaller exodrift was found in the orthoptic therapy group at near fixation (t = 2.26, p = 0.025).

CONCLUSIONS

Early postoperative orthoptic therapy can effectively improve the surgical outcome as well as stereopsis and fusional amplitude.

Reduced contrast sensitivity function correlated with superficial retinal capillary plexus impairment in early stage of dysthyroid optic neuropathy

BACKGROUND

To assess the accuracy of contrast sensitivity function (CSF) in detecting dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) at an early stage in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) patients and to examine potential factors that may be linked to early visual impairments in these individuals.

METHODS

A total of 81 TAO patients (50 non-DON and 31 DON), and 24 control subjects participated in the study. CSF was measured with the quick CSF (qCSF) method. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images of the ganglion cell complex layer (GCCL), superficial and deep retinal capillary plexuses (SRCP and DRCP) in a 3 mm diameter area around the macula were evaluated.

RESULTS

Compared with the controls, the area under the log contrast sensitivity function (AULCSF) and SRCP density were significantly reduced in non-DON and DON patients (all P < 0.05). The GCCL thickness of the DON patients was thinner than that of the controls and non-DON patients (all P < 0.05). The AULCSF was significantly correlated with spherical equivalent refractive error, muscle index, SRCP density and GCCL thickness in TAO patients, respectively (all P < 0.05). However, stepwise multi-regression analysis showed that the AULCSF was only significantly correlated with SRCP density (P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the AULCSF produced the most accurate discrimination between non-DON and DON patients from the controls (AUC = 0.831, 0.987, respectively; all P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

CSF change in the early stage of DON is related to SRCP density. It can be an early indicator of visual impairments associated with DON in TAO patients.

The application of tumor cell-derived vesicles in oncology therapy

Tumor cell-derived vesicles are released by tumor cells, have a phospholipid bilayer, and are widely distributed in various biological fluids. In recent years, it has been found that tumor cell-derived vesicles contain proteins, metabolites and nucleic acids and can be delivered to recipient cells to perform their physiological functions, such as mediating specific intercellular communication, activating or inhibiting signaling pathways, participating in regulating the modulation of tumor microenvironment and influencing tumor development, which can be used for early detection and diagnosis of cancer. In addition, tumor cell-derived vesicles exhibit multiple properties in tumor therapeutic applications and may serve as a new class of delivery systems. In this review, we elaborate on the application of tumor cell-derived vesicles in oncology therapy.

Combining multi-omics approaches to prioritize the variant-regulated functional long non-coding RNAs in autism spectrum disorder

OBJECTIVE

Rising evidence has indicated that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) may play an essential role in the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, identifying the lncRNAs associated with ASD and the risk loci on them remains a major challenge. This study aims to identify potential causative variants and explore the related mechanisms.

METHODS

By leveraging differential expression analysis, WGCNA analysis and cis-expression quantitative analysis, our study mined functional SNPs with the regulated long non-coding RNA genes in brain tissues. We recruited 611 ASD children and 645 healthy children in the case-control study.

RESULTS

Total 68 different expressed lncRNAs were validated by calculating the brain tissue-specific expression using RNA-seq data. By the WGCNA method, 9 functional lncRNAs classified as e-lncRNA were found to interact with 976 ASD risk genes. Furthermore, we mined functional SNPs regulated long non-coding RNAs in brain tissues. We analyzed the association between candidate SNPs and ASD risks in Chinese children, which showed BDNF-AS rs1565228 allele G to C reduced the risk of ASD (OR = 0.81, 95%CI: 0.66-0.98). Further bioinformatics analysis showed that the variant rs1565228 C>G with the low binding affinity of transcription factor SRF caused the decreased expression of lncRNA BDNF-AS. Our study revealed that rs2295412 in the non-coding sequence of the lncRNA gene region was significantly associated with the risk of ASD.

DISCUSSION

These findings suggested that the SNPs in the non-coding region of lncRNA may play important roles in the genetic susceptibility of ASD, which may facilitate the early screening of ASD.

Development and validation of risk prediction models for stroke and mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes in northern China

BACKGROUND

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Risk models have been developed for predicting stroke and stroke-associated mortality among patients with T2DM. Here, we evaluated risk factors of stroke for individualized prevention measures in patients with T2DM in northern China.

METHODS

In the community-based Tianjin Chronic Disease Cohort study, 58,042 patients were enrolled between January 2014 and December 2019. We used multiple imputation (MI) to impute missing variables and univariate and multivariate Cox's proportional hazard regression to screen risk factors of stroke. Furthermore, we established and validated first-ever prediction models for stroke (Model 1 and Model 2) and death from stroke (Model 3) and evaluated their performance.

RESULTS

In the derivation and validation groups, the area under the curves (AUCs) of Models 1-3 was better at 5 years than at 8 years. The Harrell's C-index for all models was above 0.7. All models had good calibration, discrimination, and clinical net benefit. Sensitivity analysis using the MI dataset indicated that all models had good and stable prediction performance.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we developed and validated first-ever risk prediction models for stroke and death from stroke in patients with T2DM, with good discrimination and calibration observed in all models. Based on lifestyle, demographic characteristics, and laboratory examination, these models could provide multidimensional management and individualized risk assessment. However, the models developed here may only be applicable to Han Chinese.

Characteristics and influencing factors of soil preferential flow in typical stands of Karst area in southwest China

The study of preferential flow phenomena in Karst areas and the identification of the main factors influencing preferential flow are of great importance for the recovery of local vegetation. The distribution of the dyeing solution in the vertical and horizontal directions was examined by field staining tracer test and image processing technique. We analyzed the total dyeing area ratio, matrix flow depth, preferential flow ratio, and length index as pre-ferential flow characteristic parameters, and 14 factors affecting preferential flow using grey correlation analysis. The results showed that there were two main types of preferential flow, funnel-shaped and dendritic, with lateral water movement occurring in the soil of typical Karst stands. The mean value of the dyeing area ratio of the understory in Karst areas was 19.4%, and that of the matrix flow depth, preferential flow ratio, and length index was 4.96 cm, 62.9%, and 385.5%, respectively. Among the 14 environmental factors influencing preferential flow, the initial soil moisture content had the strongest influence on the dyeing area ratio, the available potassium content had the most significant influence on the matrix flow depth, and available phosphorous content had the most significant influence on both the preferential flow ratio and the length index. The high degree of development and spatial variability of preferential flow under typical forest stands in Karst areas was strongly influenced by physical properties such as initial soil water content, while soil nutrient also exerts important influence on preferential flow.

Classification of neck tissues in OCT images by using convolutional neural network

Identification and classification of surrounding neck tissues are very important in thyroid surgery. The advantages of optical coherence tomography (OCT), high resolution, non-invasion, and non-destruction make it have great potential in identifying different neck tissues during thyroidectomy. We studied the automatic classification for neck tissues in OCT images based on convolutional neural network in this paper. OCT images of five kinds of neck tissues were collected firstly by our home-made swept source (SS-OCT) system, and a dataset was built for neural network training. Three image classification neural networks: LeNet, VGGNet, and ResNet, were used to train and test the dataset. The impact of transfer learning on the classification of neck tissue OCT images was also studied. Through the comparison of accuracy, it was found that ResNet has the best classification accuracy among the three networks. In addition, transfer learning did not significantly improve the accuracy, but it can somewhat accelerate the convergence of the network and shorten the network training time.

Myeloid neoplasm with ETV6::ACSl6 fusion: landscape of molecular and clinical features

OBJECTIVES

Since the publication of the third edition, the WHO classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid disorders has introduced the disease entity of 'myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia and PDGFRB rearrangement', in which the most common chromosomal abnormality is t(5;12) (q32;p13.2), and this abnormality generates the ETV6::PDGFRB fusion gene. However, there have been patients with hematologic features and chromosomal abnormalities that are extremely similar to those carrying ETV6::PDGFRB fusion. These rare disorders harbor ETV6::ACSL6 fusion, and only sporadic cases have been reported at present.

METHODS

We report a patient with chronic eosinophilic leukemia (CEL) carrying chromosome translocation t(5;12)(q32;p13.2), and we present the clinical features. In addition, we conducted a literature review to collect all reported cases and summarized the genetic and clinical profiling as well as the treatments and outcomes.

RESULT

In addition to our patient, a total of 19 cases have been previously reported, including 6 variants of ETV6::ACSL6 and 3 reciprocals. We identified a novel variant of the ETV6::ACSL6 transcript in our patient, and the breakpoint was flanked by exon 2 of ETV6 and exon 2 of ACSL6. The cellular morphology features consisted of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN); myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm (MDS/MPN), specifically CEL; and acute myelocytic leukemia (AML). The treatments and outcomes varied greatly depending on the type of disease, although tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) were not effective.

CONCLUSION

In contrast to neoplasms with ETV6::PDGFRB fusion, myeloid neoplasms with ETV6::ACSL6 fusion have unique characteristics.

The impact of prolonged exposure to air pollution on the incidence of chronic non-communicable disease based on a cohort in Tianjin

Evidence on the associations of prolonged ambient pollutants exposure with chronic non-communicable diseases among middle-aged and elderly residents is still limited. This prospective cohort study intends to investigate the long-term effects of ambient pollution on hypertension and diabetes incidence among relatively older residents in China. Individual particulate matter exposure levels were estimated by satellite-based model. Individual gaseous pollutants exposure levels were estimated by Inverse Distance Weighted model. A Cox regression model was employed to assess the risks of hypertension and diabetes morbidity linked to air pollutants exposures. The cross-product term of ambient pollutants exposure and covariates was further added into the regression model to test whether covariates would modify these air pollution-morbidity associations. During the period from 2014 to 2018, a total of 97,982 subjects completed follow-up. 12,371 incidents of hypertension and 2034 of diabetes occurred. In the multi-covariates model, the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were 1.49 (1.45-1.52), 1.28 (1.26-1.30), 1.17 (1.15-1.18), 1.21 (1.17-1.25) and 1.33 (1.31-1.35) for hypertension morbidity per 10 μg/m³ increment in PM₁, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂ and SO₂, respectively. For diabetes onsets, the HR (95% CI) were 1.17 (1.11-1.23), 1.09 (1.04-1.13), 1.06 (1.02-1.09), 1.02 (0.95-1.10), and 1.24 (1.19-1.29), respectively. In addition, for hypertension analyses, the effect estimates were more pronounced in the participants with age <60 years old, BMI ≥24 kg/m², and frequent alcohol drinking. These findings provided the evidence on elevated risks of morbidity of hypertension and diabetes associated with prolonged ambient pollutants exposure at relatively high levels.

Assessing the contrast sensitivity function in myopic parafovea: A quick contrast sensitivity functions study

Purpose

Compare peripheral contrast sensitivity functions (CSF) between myopes and emmetropes to reveal potential myogenic risks during emmetropization.

Materials and methods

This observational, cross-sectional, non-consecutive case study included data from 19 myopes (23.42 ± 4.03 years old) and 12 emmetropes (22.93 ± 2.91 years old) who underwent central and peripheral quick CSF (qCSF) measurements. Summary CSF metrics including the cut-off spatial frequency (cut-off SF), area under log CSF (AULCSF), low-, intermediate-, and high-spatial-frequency AULCSFs (l-, i-, and h-SF AULCSFs), and log CS at 19 SFs in the fovea and 15 peripheral locations (superior, inferior, temporal, and nasal quadrants at 6, 12, 18, and 24° eccentricities, excluding the physiological scotoma at 18°) were analyzed with 3-way and 4-way between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) (α = 0.05).

Results

Three-way ANOVA showed that myopes had significantly increased AULCSF at 6° (mean difference, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.02–0.13; P = 0.007) and 12° (mean difference, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.03–0.14; P = 0.003). Log CS at all 19 SFs were higher in the myopia group compared to the normal group (mean differencesuperior, 0.02; 95% CI, 0.01–0.20; P = 0.02 and mean differenceinferior, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02–0.21; P = 0.01) at 12°. The h-SF AULCSF at 6° (mean differenceinferior, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.32–2.22; P = 0.009) and i-SF AULCSF at 12° (mean differencesuperior, 5.31; 95% CI, 4.35–6.27; P < 0.001; mean differenceinferior, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.19–2.10; P = 0.02) were higher in myopia vs. normal group.

Conclusion

We found myopia increased contrast sensitivity in superior and inferior visual field locations at 6° parafoveal and 12° perifoveal regions of the retina. The observation of increased contrast sensitivities within the macula visual field in myopia might provide important insights for myopia control during emmetropization.

Echoing Mechanism of Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Occupational Therapy Education Guidance Based on Artificial Intelligence

In this paper, in-depth research and analysis of juvenile delinquency prevention and occupational therapy education guidance using artificial intelligence are conducted, and its response mechanism is designed in this way. Two crime type prediction algorithms based on time-crime type count vectorization and dense neural network and crime type prediction based on the fusion of dense neural network and long- and short-term memory neural network are proposed. The outputs of both are fed into a new neural network for training to achieve the fusion of the two neural networks. Among them, the use of the dense neural network can effectively fit the relationship between the constructed features and crime types. The behavioral manifestations and causes of the formation of deviant behavior in adolescents are discussed. They can only read numerical data, but there is a lot of information in the textual data that is closely related to the training effect. When experimenting, it is necessary to extract knowledge and build applications. The practical work with adolescents with deviant behaviors is again carried out from group work and casework, respectively, with problem diagnosis, needs assessment, and service plan development for specific clients, to carry out relevant practical service work. The causes of juvenile delinquency in the Internet culture are discussed in terms of the Internet environment, juvenile use of the Internet, Internet supervision, and crime prevention education, respectively. The fourth chapter focuses on the analysis of the prevention and control measures for juvenile delinquency in cyberculture. In response to the above-mentioned causes of juvenile delinquency in cyberculture, the prevention and control measures are discussed in four aspects, namely, strengthening the construction of cyberculture and building a healthy cyber environment, strengthening the capacity building of guiding juveniles to use cyber correctly, building a prevention and supervision system to promote the improvement of the legal system, and improving and innovating the crime prevention education in the cyber era.

The energy and time saving coordinated control methods of CO2, VOCs, and PM2.5 in office buildings

Indoor air pollution is complex and serious. In fact, an on-site investigation of an office building revealed that the concentration of three typical pollutants (CO₂, VOCs, PM_2.5) exceeded the Chinese standard. To identify a better control method to achieve good indoor air quality, an orthogonal experiment was carried out in an environmental chamber to compare the control time and energy consumption of four control methods (purifier+ and window+, purifier+ and window-, purified fresh air 240 m³/h and purified fresh air 400 m³/h) to meet the standard established for pollutants. The purifier+ and window+ method was found to be more effective in most conditions, with a control time reduced by 8.06% and energy consumption reduced by 11.91% compared with the traditional control method of purified fresh air 240 m³/h. This research highlights the optimal control strategy for the air quality in office buildings under different pollution conditions.

Joint exposure to outdoor ambient air pollutants and incident chronic kidney disease: A prospective cohort study with 90,032 older adults

Objectives

There is paucity of studies to investigate the association between combined and long-term exposure to air pollution and the risk of incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) in older adults.

Methods

A prospective cohort of 90,032 older adults who did not have CKD at baseline were followed up from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019. Various pollutant data, including particulate matter with diameters ≤ 2.5 mm (PM_2.5), ≤ 10 mm (PM₁₀), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), Ozone (O₃), and carbon monoxide (CO), from all monitoring stations in Binhai New Area, Tianjin were considered in calculating the mean exposure concentration of each pollutant over 2 years. By summing each pollutant concentration weighted by the regression coefficients, we developed an air pollution score that assesses the combined exposure of these air pollutants. Due to the strong correlation between air pollutants, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) score was also developed. The association between air pollutants and incident CKD in the elderly was analyzed.

Results

A total of 90,032 subjects participated in this study with a median follow-up of 545 days. Among them, 22,336 (24.8%) developed CKD. The HR (95% CI) for air pollution score and incidence of CKD was 1.062 (1.060-1.063) and p <0.001 after adjusting for all confounders. The adjusted HRs for the quartile subgroups of combined air pollution score were: Q2: 1.064 (1.013-1.117); Q3: 1.141 (1.088-1.198); and Q4: 3.623 (3.482-3.770), respectively (p for trend <0.001). The adjusted HRs for the quartile subgroups of air quality index (AQI) were: Q2: 1.035 (0.985-1.086); Q3: 1.145 (1.091-1.201); and Q4: 3.603 (3.463-3.748), respectively (p for trend <0.001). When the risk score was over 86.9, it significantly rose in a steep curve. The subgroup analysis showed that male, younger or exercise were more likely to develop CKD.

Conclusion

Combined air pollution score, AQI, and PCA score were associated with an increased risk of CKD in an exposure-response relationship. Our current results might also provide evidence for developing environmental protection policies.

Bimodal-Structured 0.9KNbO3-0.1BaTiO3 Solid Solutions with Highly Enhanced Electrocaloric Effect at Room Temperature

0.9KNbO3-0.1BaTiO3 ceramics, with a bimodal grain size distribution and typical tetragonal perovskite structure at room temperature, were prepared by using an induced abnormal grain growth (IAGG) method at a relatively low sintering temperature. In this bimodal grain size distribution structure, the extra-large grains (~10–50 μm) were evolved from the micron-sized filler powders, and the fine grains (~0.05–0.35 μm) were derived from the sol precursor matrix. The 0.9KNbO3-0.1BaTiO3 ceramics exhibit relaxor-like behavior with a diffused phase transition near room temperature, as confirmed by the presence of the polar nanodomain regions revealed through high resolution transmission electron microscope analyses. A large room-temperature electrocaloric effect (ECE) was observed, with an adiabatic temperature drop (ΔT) of 1.5 K, an isothermal entropy change (ΔS) of 2.48 J·kg−1·K−1, and high ECE strengths of |ΔT/ΔE| = 1.50 × 10−6 K·m·V−1 and ΔS/ΔE = 2.48 × 10−6 J·m·kg−1·K−1·V−1 (directly measured at E = 1.0 MV·m−1). These greatly enhanced ECEs demonstrate that our simple IAGG method is highly appreciated for synthesizing high-performance electrocaloric materials for efficient cooling devices.

Contrast Sensitivity Deficits and Its Structural Correlates in Fuchs Uveitis Syndrome

Purpose

To investigate the deficits in contrast sensitivity in patients with Fuchs uveitis syndrome (FUS) and to explore the potential relationship between contrast sensitivity and ocular structure.

Methods

In this prospective study, 25 patients with FUS and 30 healthy volunteers were recruited. Eyes were divided into three groups: FUS-affected eyes (AE), fellow eyes (FE), and healthy eyes. The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) of all participants was evaluated using the quick CSF (qCSF) method. Fundus photographs were collected for the analysis of refractive media, and vascular density (VD) was assessed using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Data were analyzed and compared using the generalized estimating equation (GEE).

Results

The CSF of AE was significantly lower than that of FE and controls, while no significant difference was observed between FE and controls. Contrast sensitivity was negatively correlated with the grade of haze. No significant correlation was found between visual function and VDs in FUS eyes.

Conclusions

We found that the CSF of FUS-affected eyes was significantly reduced, and the visual impairment was predominantly caused by the refractive media turbidity.

Psychophysical Reverse Correlation Revealed Broader Orientation Tuning and Prolonged Reaction Time in Amblyopia

Purpose

Neural selectivity of orientation is a fundamental property of visual system. We aim to investigate whether and how the orientation selectivity changes in amblyopia.

Methods

Seventeen patients with amblyopia (27.1 ± 7.1 years) and 18 healthy participants (25.1 ± 2.7 years) took part in this study. They were asked to continuously detect vertical gratings embedded in a stream of randomly oriented gratings. Using a technique of subspace reverse correlation, the orientation-time perceptive field (PF) for the atypical grating detection task was derived for each participant. Detailed comparisons were made between the PFs measured with the amblyopic and healthy eyes.

Results

The PF of the amblyopic eyes showed significant differences in orientation and time domain compared with that of the normal eyes (cluster-based permutation test, ps < 0.05), with broader bandwidth of orientation tuning (31.41 ± 10.59 degrees [mean ± SD] vs. 24.76 ± 6.85 degrees, P = 0.039) and delayed temporal dynamics (483 ± 68 ms vs. 425 ± 58 ms, P = 0.015). None of the altered PF properties correlated with the contrast sensitivity at 1 cycle per degree (c/deg) in amblyopia. No difference in PFs between the dominant and non-dominant eyes in the healthy group was found.

Conclusions

The altered orientation-time PF to the low spatial frequency and high contrast stimuli suggests amblyopes had coarser orientation selectivity and prolonged reaction time. The broader orientation tuning probably reflects the abnormal lateral interaction in the primary visual cortex, whereas the temporal delay might indicate a high level deficit.

Alteration of the fecal microbiota in Chinese children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with altered gut microbiota. However, there has been little consensus on the altered bacterial species and studies have had small sample sizes. We aimed to identify the taxonomic composition and evaluate the changes in the fecal microbiota in Chinese children with ASD by using a relatively large sample size. We conducted a case-control study of 101 children with ASD and 103 healthy controls in China. Demographic information and fecal samples were collected, and the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene were sequenced. The alpha and beta diversities between the two groups were significantly different. After correcting for multiple comparisons, at the phylum level the relative abundances of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria in the case group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The relative abundance of the Escherichia-Shigella genus in the case group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the relative abundance of Blautia and unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae in the control group were higher than that of the case group. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States analysis showed that children with ASD may have disturbed functional pathways, such as amino acid metabolism, cofactor and vitamin metabolism, and the AMP-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. This study revealed the characteristics of the intestinal flora of Chinese children with ASD and provided further evidence of gut microbial dysbiosis in ASD. LAY SUMMARY: This study characterized the gut microbiota composition of 101 children with ASD and 103 healthy controls in China. The altered gut microbiota may contribute significantly to the risk of ASD, including significant increases in the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Escherichia-Shigella and significant decrease of Blautia and unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae. This study provided further evidence of gut microbial dysbiosis in ASD.

Contrast Sensitivity Is Associated With Chorioretinal Thickness and Vascular Density of Eyes in Simple Early-Stage High Myopia

Objective

To evaluate the contrast sensitivity function (CSF), chorioretinal thickness and vascular density as well as their relationships in subjects with simple early-stage high myopia.

Methods

Eighty-one young subjects were enrolled in this study. They were categorized into the simple high myopia group (sHM, n = 51) and the low-moderate myopia group (control group, n = 30). Monocular CSF under best correction was measured with the qCSF method. Retinal superficial and deep vascular density, inner and outer retinal thickness and choroidal thickness were measured using optical coherence tomography angiography.

Results

The area under log CSF (AULCSF) and cutoff spatial frequency (Cutoff SF) of the sHM group were significantly reduced compared to those of the control group (P = 0.003 and P &lt; 0.001, respectively). The parafoveal and perifoveal retinal thickness, deep vascular density and choroidal thickness were also significantly reduced in the sHM group (all P &lt; 0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that AULCSF was significantly correlated with retinal deep vascular density, outer retinal thickness in the parafoveal and perifoveal areas (all P &lt; 0.05).

Conclusion

Compared to low to moderate myopic eyes, patients with simple high myopia have thinner retinal and choroidal thickness, lower retinal vascular density, and reduced contrast sensitivity. Moreover, the CSF was correlated with the measures of chorioretinal structure and vasculature. The results suggest that the CSF is a sensitive functional endpoint in simple early-stage high myopia.

Cell HE staining smears and paired cell paraffin sections in detection of epithelial growth factor receptor gene of pleural fluid specimens

OBJECTIVES

The advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with pleural effusion have no opportunity for surgery treatment. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the first-line drugs for these patients with EGFR-sensitive mutation. However, the disease progression and drug update during or after treatment of EGFR-TKIs bring more challenges and puzzles to clinical diagnosis and treatment, which inevitably requires archived pleural cell samples for EGFR re-examination or comparative study. Understanding the DNA quality of archived pleural fluid samples and effectively using archival data of pleural fluid cells are of great significance for tracing the origin of cases and basic medical research. This study aims to evaluate the consistency of EGFR mutant gene expression between the 2 methods, and to explore a reliable way for preserving cytological data and making full use of cytological archival data via cell HE staining smear and cell paraffin section.

METHODS

A total of 57 pleural fluid cytology cases in the Department of Pathology of China Aerospace Center Hospital from October 2014 to April 2021 were selected. Tumor cells were detected by cell HE staining smears and immunohistochemical staining for TTF-1 and Napsin A in the paired cell paraffin sections. There were more than 200 tumor cells in cell HE staining smear and the proportion of tumor cells were ≥70% in matched cell paraffin sections. Patients with 2 cell smears (one for cell data retention and the other for DNA extraction) were selected as the research subjects, and 57 pleural fluid samples were enrolled. EGFR gene mutation was detected by amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction in 57 paired cell HE staining smears and cell paraffin sections. DNA concentration was 2 ng/μL. Cell HE smear was amplified side-by-side with DNA samples from paired cell paraffin sections. Result determination was according to the requirements of the reagent instructions. The external control cycle threshold (Ct) value of the No. 8 well of the samples to be tested was between 13 and 21, which was considered as successful and reliable samples. When the Ct value of EGFR gene mutation was <26, it was considered as positive; when the Ct value was between 26 and 29, it was critical positive; when the Ct value was equal or more than 29, it was negative. ΔCt value was the difference between mutant Ct value and externally controlled Ct value. The smaller the ΔCt value was, the better the quality of DNA of the detected sample was.

RESULTS

Among the 57 pleural effusion samples, 42 patients were hospitalized with pleural effusion as the first symptom, accounting for 73.7% (42/57). EGFR mutation was detected in 37 samples [64.9% (37/57)]. The mutation rate for 19del was 37.8% (14/37) while for L858R was 48.6% (18/37). Females were 56.7% (21/37) of mutation cases. The mutation consistency rate of cell HE staining smear and matched cell paraffin sections was 100%. The ΔCt values of cell HE staining smears were less than those of matched cell paraffin sections. The mutation Ct values of 37 cytological samples were statistically analyzed according to the preservation periods of the years of 2014-2015, 2016-2017, 2018-2019, and 2020-2021. There were significant differences in cell paraffin section in the years of 2014-2015 and 2016-2017 compared with the years of 2018-2019 and 2020-2021, while no significant differences were found in cell HE staining smear. Statistical analysis of externally controlled Ct values of 57 cytological samples showed that there were significant differences between cell HE staining smears and cell paraffin section in the years of 2014-2015 and 2016-2017, compared with the years of 2018-2019 and 2020-2021. The mutational Ct values of 37 paired cell blocks and smears were all <26, and the externally controlled Ct values of 57 paired cell paraffin sections and HE staining smears were all between 13 and 21.

CONCLUSIONS

The DNA quality of cell HE smears and matched cell paraffin section met the qualified requirements. Two methods possess show an excellent consistency in detecting EGFR mutation in NSCLC pleural fluid samples. The DNA quality of cell HE staining smear is better than that of cell paraffin sections, so cell HE staining smear can be used as important supplement of the gene test source. It should be noted that the limitation of cell HE staining smears is non-reproducibility, so multiple smears of pleural fluid are recommended to be prepared for multiple tests.

Significance of the Entire Appendiceal Evaluation in the Diagnosis of Serrated Lesions, Low-Grade Appendiceal Mucinous Neoplasm, and Appendiceal Diverticulosis Disease

Objective

This study was conducted in order to investigate the significance of the entire appendiceal evaluation in the pathological diagnosis of appendiceal serrated lesions, low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm (LAMN), and appendiceal diverticulosis disease (ADD).

Methods

A total of 702 appendectomy specimens diagnosed from 2017 to 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. The specimens were divided into two groups according to the different sampling procedures. In group 1, the vast majority of 337 specimens were partially submitted by routine sampling within 18 months from October 2017 to March 2019. In group 2, 365 of specimens were entirely submitted and examined within 18 months from April 2019 to October 2020. The incidence and pathological features of serrated lesions, LAMN, and ADD in the two groups were compared and analyzed. The clinicopathological characteristics between different entities were also studied.

Results

Forty appendiceal serrated lesions, 8 LAMNs, and 21 diverticula were accidentally detected in 702 appendectomy specimens. As compared with group 1, the incidence of appendiceal serrated lesions in group 2 was significantly increased (9.3% vs. 1.8%, P < 0.01), especially for the serrated lesions without dysplasia (7.4% vs. 1.2%, P < 0.01). The entire sampling revealed that loss of lamina propria and replacement with dysplastic mucinous epithelium were statistically significantly associated with LAMN rather than serrated lesions and ADD (P < 0.01 and P < 0.01, respectively). Mural mucin deposition and fibrosis were useful features to distinguish LAMN from simple serrated lesions (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively), but mucin deposition was useless for the distinction between LAMN and ADD (P > 0.05) or serrated lesions combined with ADD.

Conclusion

Our study highlights the importance and necessity of careful gross assessment and histologic examination of the entire appendectomy specimen, since the association with unexpected appendiceal lesions is significant and cannot be ignored. The entirely submitted appendix is more sensitive for the detection of appendiceal serrated lesions. In addition, thorough examination and evaluation are essential to distinguish the key pathological features between appendiceal serrated lesions, LAMN, and ADD.

Binocular Summation Is Intact in Intermittent Exotropia After Surgery

Purpose: To determine binocular summation of surgically treated intermittent exotropia (IXT) patients by measuring the contrast threshold.

Methods: We recruited 38 surgically treated IXT patients aged 8–24 years and 20 age-matched healthy controls. All participants had normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity (Snellen ≥ 20/20) in both eyes. The IXT patients had undergone the surgery at least a year prior to the study. Twenty-one of them obtained good alignment and 17 experienced a recurrence of exotropia. We measured the observers' monocular and binocular contrast sensitivities (CS) at six spatial frequencies (1.5, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 cycles/degree) as an index of visual information processing at the threshold level. Binocular summation was evaluated against a baseline model of simple probability summation based on the CS at each spatial frequency and the area under the log contrast sensitivity function (AULCSF).

Results: The exo-deviation of IXTs with good alignment was −6.38 ± 3.61 prism diopters (pd) at 33 cm and −5.14 ± 4.07 pd at 5 m. For the patients with recurrence, it was −23.47 ± 5.53 pd and −21.12 ± 4.28 pd, respectively. There was no significant difference in the binocular summation ratio (BSR) between the surgically treated IXT patients, including those with good alignment and recurrence, and normal controls at each spatial frequency [F_(2,55) = 0.416, P = 0.662] and AULCSF [F_(2,55) = 0.469, P = 0.628]. In addition, the BSR was not associated with stereopsis (r = −0.151, P = 0.365).

Conclusion: Our findings of normal contrast sensitivity binocular summation ratio in IXT after surgical treatment suggest that the ability of the visual cortex in processing binocular information is intact at the contrast threshold level.

Fluctuations in waist circumference increase diabetes risk: a 4-year cohort study in 61,587 older adults

PURPOSE

To evaluate the effect of fluctuations in waist circumference (WC), weight, and body mass index (BMI) on the incidence of diabetes in older adults.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A prospective cohort of 61,587 older adults (age, 60-96 years) who did not have diabetes at study initiation was examined. Data on weight, BMI, and WC were collected, and participants were followed up until 31 December 2018. The main end point was new-onset diabetes. A Cox regression model was used to estimate the risk of diabetes (hazard ratios [HRs] and confidence intervals [CI]) in these participants.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up of 3.6 years, being overweight (HR [95% CI] 1.87 [1.62-2.17]), obesity (1.41 [1.26-1.59]), abdominal obesity (1.42 [1.28-1.58]), and obesity plus abdominal obesity at baseline (1.93 [1.66-2.25]) increased the risk of diabetes onset. Compared with older adults who "maintained normal WC", those who "remained abdominally obese" (HR = 1.66), "became abdominally obese" (HR = 1.58), or "achieved normal WC" (HR = 1.36) were at a higher risk of diabetes onset, as well as those with an increase in WC > 3 cm or > 5% compared with the baseline level. Weight gain or loss > 6 kg or weight gain > 5%, increase or decrease in BMI > 2 kg/m², or an increase in BMI > 10% were associated with a higher diabetes risk. The diabetes risk was reduced by 19% in overweight older adults who exercised daily.

CONCLUSION

For older adults, WC, BMI, and healthy weight maintenance reduce the diabetes risk. The findings may provide evidence for developing guidelines of proper weight and WC control for older adults.

Hierarchical Bayesian modeling of contrast sensitivity functions in a within-subject design

Recent development of the quick contrast sensitivity function (qCSF) method has made it possible to obtain accurate, precise, and efficient contrast sensitivity function (CSF) assessment. To improve statistical inference on CSF changes in a within-subject design, we developed a hierarchical Bayesian model (HBM) to compute the joint distribution of CSF parameters and hyperparameters at test, subject, and population levels, utilizing information within- and between-subjects and experimental conditions. We evaluated the performance of the HBM relative to a non-hierarchical Bayesian inference procedure (BIP) on an existing CSF dataset of 112 subjects obtained with the qCSF method in three luminance conditions (Hou, Lesmes, Kim, Gu, Pitt, Myung, & Lu, 2016). We found that the average d's of the area under log CSF (AULCSF) and CSF parameters between pairs of luminance conditions at the test-level from the HBM were 33.5% and 103.3% greater than those from the BIP analysis of AULCSF. The increased d' resulted in greater statistical differences between experimental conditions across subjects. In addition, simulations showed that the HBM generated accurate and precise CSF parameter estimates. These results have strong implications for the application of HBM in clinical trials and patient care.

Methane Dry Reforming by Ni-Cu Nanoalloys Anchored on Periclase-Phase MgAlOx Nanosheets for Enhanced Syngas Production

Stable and efficient syngas production via methane dry reforming is highly desirable as it utilizes two greenhouse gases simultaneously. In this work, active Ni-Cu nanoalloys stably anchored on periclase-phase MgAlO_x nanosheets were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. These highly dispersed small Ni-Cu alloys strongly interacted with the periclase-phase MgAlO_x nanosheets, on which abundant base sites were accessible. On the optimal catalyst (6Ni6CuMgAl-S), methane and carbon dioxide conversion always reached 85 and 90% at 700 °C under a gas hour speed velocity of 40,000 mL/g_cat h for more than 70 h. The hydrogen production rate was maintained at 1.8 mmol/min, and the ratio of H₂/CO was kept at approximately 0.96 under a CH₄ and CO₂ flow rate of 25 mL/min. Coke deposition and Ni sintering were effectively suppressed by the formation of a Ni-Cu alloy, the laminar structure, and the periclase phase of the MgAlO_x support. Moreover, the alloy nanoparticles were reconstructed into a segregated Ni-Cu alloy structure in response to the reaction environment, and this structure was more stable and still active. Density functional theory calculations showed that carbon adsorption was inhibited on the segregated Ni-Cu alloy. Furthermore, the experimental thermogravimetric and O₂-TPO results confirmed the significant decrease in carbon deposition on the Ni-Cu alloy catalysts.

Photoluminescence and magnetism integrated multifunctional black phosphorus probes through controllable PO bond orbital hybridization

Biological probes with integrated photoluminescence and magnetism characteristics play a critical role in modern clinical diagnosis and surgical protocols combining fluorescence optical imaging (FOI) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. However, traditional magnetic semiconductors can easily generate a spin splitting at the Fermi level and half-metallic electronic occupation, which will sharply reduce the radiation recombination efficiency of photogenerated carriers. To overcome this intrinsic contradiction, we propose a controllable oxidation strategy to introduce some particular PO bonds into black phosphorus nanosheets, in which the p orbital hybridization between P and O atoms not only provides some carrier recombination centers but also leads to a room-temperature spin polarization. As a result, the coexistence of photoluminescence and magnetism is realized in multifunctional black phosphorus probes with excellent biocompatibility. This work provides a new insight into integrating photoluminescence and magnetism together by intriguing atomic orbital hybridization.

A Survey of Clinical Opinions and Preferences on the Non-surgical Management of Intermittent Exotropia in China

PURPOSE

This study reports clinical opinions and preferences on the non-surgical management of intermittent exotropia (IXT) among practitioners in China.

METHODS

An online survey was developed and distributed through professional bodies. The study was conducted from July 25^th to August 3^rd, 2019. A total of 300 ophthalmologists and 188 optometrists responded.

RESULTS

Of 488 participants, 257 (53%) considered fusion defects as the main cause of IXT, and 299 (61%) took IXT as a progressive disorder. Two hundred and seventy-one (56%) participants considered orthoptic exercises as the most effective non-surgical intervention for IXT. Likewise, 245 (50%) participants reported that orthoptic exercises were their most frequent non-surgical option, followed by observation (178, 37%). There are discrepancies between ophthalmologists and optometrists. A greater proportion of ophthalmologists (201, 67%) shared the view that IXT worsens over time (98, 52%) (p = .001). Additionally, ophthalmologists (121, 40%) tended to prefer observation compared with optometrists (57, 30%) (p = .021).

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that there is no general consensus on the non-surgical management of IXT in China. Given the lack of robust evidence, the findings from this study highlight the need for future randomized clinical trials to validate the effectiveness of non-surgical interventions, orthoptic exercises in particular, and to establish treatment guidelines accordingly.

Impact of Temporal Visual Flicker on Spatial Contrast Sensitivity in Myopia

Purpose

To investigate whether short-term exposure to high temporal frequency full-field flicker has an impact on spatial visual acuity in individuals with varying degrees of myopia.

Methods

Thirty subjects (evenly divided between control and experimental groups) underwent a 5-min exposure to full-field flicker. The flicker rate was lower than critical flicker frequency (CFF) for the experimental group (12.5 Hz) and significantly higher than CFF for the controls (60 Hz). Spatial contrast sensitivity function (CSF) was measured before and immediately after flicker exposure. We examined whether the post flicker CSF parameters were different from the pre-exposure CSF values in either of the subject groups. Additionally, we examined the relationship between the amount of CSF change from pre to post timepoints and the degree of subjects’ myopia. The CSF parameters included peak frequency, peak sensitivity, bandwidth, truncation, and area under log CSF (AULCSF).

Results

There was no significant difference of all five pre-exposure CSF parameters between the two groups at baseline (P = 0.333 ∼ 0.424). Experimental group subjects exhibited significant (P < 0.005) increases in peak sensitivity and AULCSF, when comparing post-exposure results to pre-exposure ones. Controls showed no such enhancements. Furthermore, the extent of these changes in the experimental group was correlated significantly with the participants’ refractive error (P = 0.005 and 0.018, respectively).

Conclusion

Our data suggest that exposure to perceivable high-frequency flicker (but, not to supra-CFF frequencies) enhances important aspects of spatial contrast sensitivity, and these enhancements are correlated to the degree of myopia. This finding has implications for potential interventions for cases of modest myopia.

Effect of the base-out recovery point as the surgical target for acute acquired comitant esotropia

PURPOSE

To evaluate the treatment efficacy of the preoperative base-out recovery point as the surgical target angle for acute acquired comitant esotropia.

METHODS

Prospective study. Twenty-two patients with acute acquired comitant esotropia (AACE) underwent strabismus surgery based on the target angle of the preoperative base-out recovery point. The postoperative deviation, positive fusional vergence, and negative fusional vergence were evaluated and compared with those of 23 normal individuals.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up period was 18.68 ± 19.48 months. At the last follow-up, 19 (86.4%) of 22 subjects had orthophoria, whereas 3 (13.6%) had minimal esophoria. The postoperative angle of deviation was significantly smaller than the preoperative angle of deviation at near (P < 0.001) and distance (P < 0.001). Postoperative sensory fusion was significantly better than preoperative fusion at near (P < 0.001) and distance (P < 0.001). The postoperative stereoacuity improved significantly after the surgery at near (P < 0.001) and distance (P < 0.001). Compared with the controls, the convergence and divergence amplitudes in the AACE patients were similar at distance (P > 0.05) but were still narrower at near (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Good alignment and binocular balance were obtained with the surgical target angle of the base-out recovery point in AACE.

Investigation of the Relationship Between Subjective Symptoms of Visual Fatigue and Visual Functions

Purpose

To investigate whether the severity of symptoms of visual fatigue might be associated with clinical visual measures and basic visual functions, such as accommodation, vergence, and contrast sensitivity.

Methods

In this study, 104 students were recruited (25 males, 79 females, Age 23.4 ± 2.5) for this study. Those with high myopia, strabismus, anisometropia, eye disease or history of ophthalmological surgery were excluded. The included subjects completed a questionnaire that assesses the severity of visual fatigue. Then, binocular accommodative facility, vergence facility and contrast sensitivity using a quick contrast sensitivity function approach were measured in a random sequence. Next, the correlations between each symptom of visual fatigue in the questionnaire and accommodative facility, vergence facility and contrast sensitivity were examined.

Results

Factor analysis indicated that visual fatigue, as captured by the scores of a subset of the questionnaire items, could be strongly related to binocular accommodative facility and binocular contrast sensitivity, but not to vergence facility. We also found that binocular accommodative facility and contrast sensitivity at high spatial frequencies are related.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that visual fatigue is related to the ability of human observers to encode visual details through their binocular vision.

Defective Temporal Window of the Foveal Visual Processing in High Myopia

Purpose

To investigate the temporal characteristics of visual processing at the fovea and the periphery in high myopia.

Methods

Eighteen low (LM, ≤ -0.50 and > -6.00 D) and 18 high myopic (HM, ≤ -6.00 D) participants took part in this study. The contrast thresholds in an orientation discrimination task under various stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) masking conditions were measured at the fovea and a more peripheral area (7°) for the two groups. An elaborated perceptual template model (ePTM) was fit to the behavioral data for each participant.

Results

An analysis of variance with three factors (SOA, degree of myopia and eccentricity) was performed on the threshold data. The interaction between SOA and degree of myopia in the fovea was significant (F (4, 128) = 2.66, P = 0.036), suggesting that the masking effect had different temporal patterns between the two groups. The temporal profiles for the two groups were derived based on the ePTM model. The peak and the spread of the temporal window in the fovea were much lower and wider, respectively, in the HM group than that in the LM group (both Ps < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the peripheral temporal window between the two groups.

Conclusions

High myopia is associated with defective temporal processing in the fovea, captured by a flattened temporal window.

Association of health-risk behaviors and depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms: a school-based sample of Chinese adolescents

Background Depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms of adolescents not only affect youth but also have wide-ranging impacts on the health of adults. The study was carried out to determine the epidemiological characteristics of depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms and the associations between the two and health-risk behaviors in Chinese adolescents. Methods Participants were recruited from the junior and senior high schools in China. Data were collected by self-designed questionnaires. The questionnaires included questions about demographic characteristics, depressive symptom scales, anxiety symptom scales and nine categories of health-risk behaviors. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression were performed by SPSS 21.0 software. Results There were 4.4% of the participants with depressive symptoms. Approximately 32.0% of the participants had anxiety symptoms. Girls and general senior school students were risk factors for depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Multiple health-risk behaviors were associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents. Conclusion Depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms were prevalent in Chinese adolescents. Their distribution was affected by certain health-risk behaviors. Multiple health-risk behaviors were associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents.

Temporal Characteristics of Visual Processing in Amblyopia

Purpose

Amblyopia affects not only spatial vision but also temporal vision. In this study, we aim to investigate temporal processing deficits in amblyopia.

Methods

Twenty amblyopic patients (age: 27.0 ± 5.53 years, 15 males), and 25 normal observers (age: 25.6 ± 4.03 years, 15 males) were recruited in this study. Contrast thresholds in an orientation discrimination task in five target-mask stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) conditions (16.7 ms, 33.4 ms, 50.0 ms, 83.4 ms, and ∞/no noise) were measured. An elaborated perceptual template model (ePTM) was fit to the behavioral data to derive the temporal profile of visual processing for each participant.

Results

There were significant threshold differences between the amblyopic and normal eyes [F(1,43) = 10.6, p = 0.002] and a significant group × SOA interaction [F(2.75,118) = 4.98, p = 0.004], suggesting different temporal processing between the two groups. The ePTM fitted the data well (χ ² test, all ps > 0.50). Compared to the normal eye, the amblyopic eye had a lower template gain (p = 0.046), and a temporal window with lower peak and broader width (all ps < 0.05). No significant correlation was found between the observed temporal deficits and visual acuity in amblyopia (ps > 0.50). Similar results were found in the anisometropic amblyopia subgroup. No significant difference was found between the fellow eyes of the monocular amblyopia and the normal eyes.

Conclusion

Amblyopia is less efficient in processing dynamic visual stimuli. The temporal deficits in amblyopia, represented by a flattened temporal window, are likely independent of spatial vision deficits.

Comprehensive Integrative Analyses Identify TIGD5 rs75547282 as a Risk Variant for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Although recent genome-wide association studies have identified risk loci that strongly associates with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), how to pinpoint the causal genes remains a challenge. We aimed to pinpoint the potential causal genes and explore the possible susceptibility and mechanism. A convergent functional genomics (CFG) method was used to prioritize the candidate genes by combining lines of evidence, including Sherlock analysis, spatio-temporal expression patterns, expression analysis, protein-protein interactions, co-expression and association with brain structure. A higher score in the CFG approach suggested that more evidence supported this gene as an ASD risk gene. We screened genes with higher CFG scores for candidate functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A genotyping experiment (602 ASD children and 604 healthy sex-matched children) and the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay were followed to validate the effects of SNPs. We identified three genes (MAPT, ZNF285, and TIGD5) as candidate causal genes using the CFG approach. The genotyping experiment showed that TIGD5 rs75547282 was associated with an increased risk of ASD under the dominant model (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.09-1.72, P = 0.006) though the statistical power was limited (5.2%). The T allele of rs75547282 activated the expression of TIGD5 compared with the C allele in the dual-luciferase reporter assay. Our study indicates that such comprehensive integrative analyses may be an effective way to explore promising ASD susceptibility variants and needs to be further investigated in future research. Genotyping experiments should, however, be based on a larger population sample to increase statistical power. LAY SUMMARY: We set out to pinpoint the potential causal genes of ASD and explore the possible susceptibility and mechanism by combining lines of evidence from different analyses. Our results show that TIGD5 rs75547282 is associated with the risk of ASD in the Han Chinese population. In addition, a similar framework to seek promising ASD risk variants could be further investigated in future research Autism Res 2021, 14: 631-644. © 2021 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Jaundice may be the only clinical manifestation of primary hepatosplenic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a case report and literature review

A 64-year old Chinese male patient was admitted to our hospital because of severe jaundice that persisted for 2 months. No swollen lymph nodes or hepatosplenomegaly was detected on physical examination. His laboratory data indicated high levels of direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase. No abnormality was revealed on abdominal computed tomography (CT). However, positron emission tomography (PET)-CT revealed diffuse hypermetabolism in the liver and spleen. Ultimately, liver biopsy guided by PET-CT was performed, revealing that atypical lymphocytes diffusely infiltrated the liver. The immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the tumor cells were positive for CD20, Bcl-2, Bcl-6, MUM1, and c-Myc but negative for CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD10. Based on these findings, this patient was diagnosed with primary hepatosplenic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. After the definite diagnosis, he received chemotherapy and remained in good health as of September 2019.