Clinical features, radiological imaging, and treatment strategies of nonmetallic intraorbital foreign bodies: a retrospective analysis.

AIM: To provide comprehensive data on nonmetallic intraorbital foreign bodies (IOFBs) by summarizing and analyzing material types, clinical manifestations, imaging features, and treatment strategies. METHODS: Totally 28 nonmetallic IOFB cases treated at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from 2012 to 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. The types of foreign bodies, clinical features, imaging manifestations, and treatment outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Among all cases, 67.8% (19/28) of the foreign bodies were organic. The top three entrances were the upper eyelid skin (7/28), lower fornix conjunctiva (6/28), and lower eyelid skin (4/28). In most cases (11/28, 39.3%), foreign bodies remained in the medial orbits. The major clinical manifestations included eyelid redness and swelling (20/28, 71.4%), conjunctival congestion and edema (17/28, 60.7%), and ophthalmoptosis (15/28, 53.6%). Infection was the main complication, which occurred in 57.1% (16/28) of all cases. Computerized tomography (CT) values differed for different foreign bodies and varied in the different periods after injury. The plant- and grease-derived foreign bodies and the surrounding pus cysts showed different signals on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The prognosis varied with different foreign body types, surgery timing, and intraoperative management. CONCLUSION: The majority of nonmetallic IOFBs are organic and often remain in the superior, medial, and inferior areas of the orbit. Clinical manifestations vary owing to their different textures. CT and MRI facilitate the identification of foreign body materials. Plant-derived foreign bodies should be completely removed, and surgical treatment is a complicated process.

Fe-modified fly ash/cotton stalk biochar composites for efficient removal of phosphate in water: mechanisms and green-reuse potential.

Excessive phosphate content input into natural water can lead to the waste of resource and eutrophication. Biochar is a kind of low-cost adsorbent. However, its adsorption capacity for phosphate is low. In order to solve this problem, Fe compound-modified fly ash/cotton stalk biochar composites (Fe-FBC) were prepared through co-pyrolyzed fly ash and cotton stalk at 800℃, followed by infiltration of FeSO4 solution. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and zeta potential. After modification, the hydrophilicity and polarity of Fe-FBC increased. In addition, the pore volume, specific surface area, and surface functional groups were significantly improved. The adsorption behavior of Fe-FBC for the removal of phosphate from water can be well fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Sips isotherm adsorption model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 47.91 mg/g. Fe-FBC maintained a high adsorption capacity in the pH range of 3-10. The coexisting anions (NO3-, SO42-, and Cl-) had negligible effects on phosphate adsorption. The adsorption mechanisms of Fe-FBC include electrostatic attraction, ligand exchange, surface complexation, ion exchange, chemical precipitation, and hydrogen bonding. Moreover, the desorption process of phosphate was investigated, indicating that the phosphate-saturated Fe-FBC could use as slow-release phosphate fertilizer. This study proposed a potentially environmental protection and recycling economy approach, which consists of recycling resources and treating wastes with wastes.

Atmospheric Chemistry of CH2OO: The Hydrolysis of CH2OO in Small Clusters of Sulfuric Acid.

The hydrolysis of CH2OO is not only a dominant sink for the CH2OO intermediate in the atmosphere but also a key process in the formation of aerosols. Herein, the reaction mechanism and kinetics for the hydrolysis of CH2OO catalyzed by the precursors of atmospheric aerosols, including H2SO4, H2SO4···H2O, and (H2SO4)2, have been studied theoretically at the CCSD(T)-F12a/cc-pVDZ-F12//B3LYP/6-311+G(2df,2pd) level. The calculated results show that the three catalysts decrease the energy barrier by over 10.3 kcal·mol-1; at the same time, the product formation of HOCH2OOH is more strongly bonded to the three catalysts than to the reactants CH2OO and H2O, revealing that small clusters of sulfuric acid promote the hydrolysis of CH2OO both kinetically and thermodynamically. Kinetic simulations show that the H2SO4-assisted reaction is more favorable than the H2SO4···H2O- (the pseudo-first-order rate constant being 27.9-11.5 times larger) and (H2SO4)2- (between 2.8 × 104 and 3.4 × 105 times larger) catalyzed reactions. Additionally, due to relatively lower concentration of H2SO4, the hydrolysis of CH2OO with H2SO4 cannot compete with the CH2OO + H2O or (H2O)2 reaction within the temperature range of 280-320 K, since its pseudo-first-order rate ratio is smaller by 4-7 or 6-8 orders of magnitude, respectively. However, the present results provide a good example of how small clusters of sulfuric acid catalyze the hydrolysis of an important atmospheric species.

Serum vaspin levels are positively associated with diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Vaspin is linked to obesity and its metabolic abnormalities. However, the role of vaspin serum levels in diabetic retinopathy (DR) is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the association between serum levels of vaspin and both DR and vision-threatening DR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional single-center observational study from December 2018 to September 2019. We evaluated circulating serum levels of vaspin in 372 participants with type 2 diabetes. DR was screened through detailed ocular examination. DR patients were also divided two groups: vision-threatening DR and non-vision-threatening DR. The relationship between vaspin and DR was investigated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, and the results are shown as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The vaspin serum levels of 372 patients were obtained, with a median value of 1.50 ng/mL (interquartile range 0.94-2.18 ng/mL). The median age of those patients was 53 years (interquartile range 44-62 years), and 44.4% were women. Patients with DR and VDTR had significantly increased vaspin serum levels (P < 0.001 andP < 0.001). A multivariable regression model found that patients with high levels of vaspin were approximately 1.85-fold (odds ratio for per unit increase 1.85, 95% confidence interval 1.43-2.55; P < 0.001) more likely to experience DR, and 3.76-fold (odds ratio for per unit increase 3.76, 95% confidence interval 2.05-6.55; P < 0.001) more likely to experience VTDR. The predictive value of vaspin was stronger in women than in men. CONCLUSION: Higher vaspin serum levels were associated with an increased risk of DR and VDTR in patients with type 2 diabetes, which showed that vaspin is an important indicator factor for DR.

Quercetin protects against diabetic retinopathy in rats by inducing heme oxygenase-1 expression.

Quercetin is a widely-occurring flavonoid that protects against cancer, and improves memory and cardiovascular functions. However, whether quercetin exhibits therapeutic effects in diabetic retinopathy remains unclear. In this study, we established a rat model of streptozocin-induced diabetic retinopathy. Seventy-two hours later, the rats were intraperitoneally administered 150 mg/kg quercetin for 16 successive weeks. Quercetin markedly increased the thickness of the retinal cell layer, increased the number of ganglion cells, and decreased the overexpression of the pro-inflammatory factors interleukin-1ß, interleukin-18, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in the retinal tissue as well as the overexpression of high mobility group box-1 and the overactivation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Furthermore, quercetin inhibited the overexpression of TLR4 and NF-κBp65, reduced the expression of the pro-angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and upregulated the neurotrophins brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor. Intraperitoneal injection of the heme oxygenase-1 inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin blocked the protective effect of quercetin. These findings suggest that quercetin exerts therapeutic effects in diabetic retinopathy possibly by inducing heme oxygenase-1 expression. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of China Medical University, China (approval No. 2016PS229K) on April 8, 2016.

Comparison of the femtosecond laser and mechanical microkeratome for flap cutting in LASIK.

AIM: To compare refractive results, higher-order aberrations (HOAs), contrast sensitivity and dry eye after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) performed with a femtosecond laser versus a mechanical microkeratome for myopia and astigmatism. METHODS: In this prospective, non-randomized study, 120 eyes with myopia received a LASIK surgery with the VisuMax femtosecond laser for flap cutting, and 120 eyes received a conventional LASIK surgery with a mechanical microkeratome. Flap thickness, visual acuity, manifest refraction, contrast sensitivity function (CSF) curves, HOAs and dry-eye were measured at 1wk; 1, 3, 6mo after surgery. RESULTS: At 6mo postoperatively, the mean central flap thickness in femtosecond laser procedure was 113.05±5.89 µm (attempted thickness 110 µm), and 148.36±21.24 µm (attempted thickness 140 µm) in mechanical microkeratome procedure. An uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) of 4.9 or better was obtained in more than 98% of eyes treated by both methods, a gain in logMAR lines of corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) occurred in more than 70% of eyes treated by both methods, and no eye lost ≥1 lines of CDVA in both groups. The difference of the mean UDVA and CDVA between two groups at any time post-surgery were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The postoperative changes of spherical equivalent occurred markedly during the first month in both groups. The total root mean square values of HOAs and spherical aberrations in the femtosecond treated eyes were markedly less than those in the microkeratome treated eyes during 6mo visit after surgery (P<0.01). The CSF values of the femtosecond treated eyes were also higher than those of the microkeratome treated eyes at all space frequency (P<0.01). The mean ocular surface disease index scores in both groups were increased at 1wk, and recovered to preoperative level at 1mo after surgery. The mean tear breakup time (TBUT) of the femtosecond treated eyes were markedly longer than those of the microkeratome treated eyes at postoperative 1, 3mo (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Both the femtosecond laser and the mechanical microkeratome for LASIK flap cutting are safe and effective to correct myopia, with no statistically significant difference in the UDVA, CDVA during 6mo follow-up. Refractive results remained stable after 1mo post-operation for both groups. The femtosecond laser may have advantages over the microkeratome in the flap thickness predictability, fewer induced HOAs, better CSF, and longer TBUT.

[Study on meteorological factors-based neural network model of malaria].

OBJECTIVE: In order to provide reliable data for strategies development on prevention, a meteorological factors-based predicating model for malaria forecast was studied. METHODS: Data on malaria occurrence and climate changes from 1994 to 1999 in counties in Yunnan province was collected and analyzed with software packages of FoxPro 6.0 and Excel 5.0. The forecasting model for malaria occurrence was established, using the Neural Network Toolbox of Matlab 6.1 software package. In the studies of forecasting model, data of malaria and meteorological factors from 1994 to 1999 in Honghe state in Yunnan province was chosen. The meteorological factors included average monthly pressure, air temperature, relative humidity, monthly maximum air temperature, minimum air temperature, rainfall, rainday, evaporation and sunshine hours in the study. The established forecasting model was also tested and verified. RESULTS: The BP network model was established according to data of diseases and meteorological factors from Honghe state in Yunnan province. After training the neural network for 100 times, the error of performance decreased from 3.23608 to 0.035862. Verified by fact data of malaria, the efficiency of malaria forecasting was 84.85%. CONCLUSION: Neural network model was effective for forecasting malaria. It showed advantages as: strong ability for analysis, lower claim for data, convenient and easy to apply etc. Neural network model might be used as a new method for malaria forecasting.