Impact of Vision Impairment and Ocular Morbidity and Their Treatment on Quality of Life in Children: A Systematic Review.

TOPIC: This review summarizes existing evidence of the impact of vision impairment and ocular morbidity and their treatment on children's quality of life (QoL). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Myopia and strabismus are associated with reduced QoL among children. Surgical treatment of strabismus significantly improves affected children's QoL. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis by screening articles in any language in 9 databases published from inception through August 22, 2022, addressing the impact of vision impairment, ocular morbidity, and their treatment on QoL in children. We reported pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) using random-effects meta-analysis models. Quality appraisal was performed using Joanna Briggs Institute and National Institutes of Health tools. This study was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (identifier, CRD42021233323). RESULTS: Our search identified 29 118 articles, 44 studies (0.15%) of which were included for analysis that included 32 318 participants from 14 countries between 2005 and 2022. Seventeen observational and 4 interventional studies concerned vision impairment, whereas 10 observational and 13 interventional studies described strabismus and other ocular morbidities. Twenty-one studies were included in the meta-analysis. The QoL scores did not differ between children with and without vision impairment (SMD, -1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.11 to 0.03; P = 0.06; 9 studies). Myopic children demonstrated significantly lower QoL scores than those with normal vision (SMD, -0.60; 95% CI, -1.09 to -0.11; P = 0.02; 7 studies). Children with strabismus showed a significantly lower QoL score compared with those without (SMD, -1.19; 95% CI, -1.66 to -0.73; P < 0.001; 7 studies). Strabismus surgery significantly improved QoL in children (SMD, 1.36; 95% CI, 0.48-2.23; P < 0.001; 7 studies). No randomized controlled trials (RCTs) concerning refractive error and QoL were identified. Among all included studies, 35 (79.5%) were scored as low to moderate quality; the remaining met all quality appraisal tools criteria. DISCUSSION: Reduced QoL was identified in children with myopia and strabismus. Surgical correction of strabismus improves the QoL of affected children, which supports insurance coverage of strabismus surgery. Further studies, especially RCTs, investigating the impact of correction of myopia on QoL are needed. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

Determinants of latent tuberculosis infection and treatment interruption in long-term care facilities: A retrospective cohort study in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment is challenging in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) residents due to the occurrence of medical complexities. However, factors associated with treatment interruption have not been extensively studied. This retrospective cohort study aimed to determine LTBI-associated factors and treatment interruption in LTCF residents and employees in Taiwan. METHODS: From May 2017 through September 2020, the residents and employees of 20 LTCFs in Taipei, Taiwan, were screened for LTBI by using QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test. The LTBI individuals underwent directly observed preventive therapy (DOPT), including regimens of 9-month daily isoniazid (9H) and 3-month weekly isoniazid plus rifapentine (3HP). All the LTBI cases were followed up till treatment completion, death, or treatment interruption. RESULTS: Among 2207 LTCF subjects, 16.8% had LTBI. After controlling for other covariates, residents of public facilities had a significantly higher LTBI prevalence than those of private facilities (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-1.88). Among 264 LTBI cases receiving preventive therapy, 52 (19.7%) had treatment interruption. LTBI cases receiving 3HP were less likely to have treatment interruption than those receiving 9H (AOR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.07-0.71). CONCLUSIONS: LTCF residents, particular those living in public facilities, had a high LTBI prevalence. 3HP with DOPT is considered the priority regimen for preventive therapy among LTBI cases in LTCFs.

Molecular characterization, expression profile and transcriptional regulation of the CYP19 gene in goose ovarian follicles.

Cytochrome P450 Family 19 (CYP19) is a crucial enzyme to catalyze the conversion of androgens to estrogens. However, the regulatory mechanism of goose CYP19 gene remains poorly understood. The present study attempted to obtain the full-length coding sequence (CDS) and 5'-flanking sequence of CYP19 gene, to investigate its expression and distribution profiles in different sized follicles, and to analyze the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of CYP19 gene in goose. Results showed that its CDS consisted of 1512 nucleotides and the encoded amino acid sequence contained a classical P450 structural domain. Homology analysis showed that there were high homologies of nucleotide and amino acid sequences between goose and other avian species. Its promoter sequence spanned from -1925 bp to the transcription start site (ATG) and several transcriptional factors were predicted in this region. Further analysis from luciferase assay showed that the luciferase activity was the highest spanning from -118 to -1 bp by constructing deletion promoter reporter vector. In addition, result from quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction indicated that the mRNA level of CYP19 gene were highly expressed in theca layer of the fifth largest follicle, and the cellular location was in the theca externa cells by immunohistochemistry. Taken together, it could be concluded that the transcription activity of CYP19 gene was activated by transcriptional factors in its proximal region of promoter to promote the synthesis of estrogens, regulating the selection of pre-hierarchical into hierarchical follicle in goose.

Effect of Sc and Zr Additions on Recrystallization Behavior and Intergranular Corrosion Resistance of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Alloys.

The recrystallization and intergranular corrosion behaviors impacted by the additions of Sc and Zr in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys are investigated. The stronger effect of coherent Al3(Sc1-xZrx) phases on pinning dislocation resulted in a lower degree of recrystallization in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Sc-Zr alloy, while the subgrain boundaries can escape from the pinning of Al3Zr phases and merge with each other, bringing about a higher degree of recrystallization in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr alloy. A low degree of recrystallization promotes the precipitation of grain boundary precipitates (GBPs) with a discontinuous distribution, contributing to the high corrosion resistance of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Sc-Zr alloy in the central layer. The primary Al3(Sc1-xZrx) phase promotes recrystallization due to particle-stimulated nucleation (PSN), and acts as the cathode to stimulate an accelerated electrochemical process between the primary Al3(Sc1-xZrx) particles and GBPs, resulting in a sharp decrease of the corrosion resistance in the surface layer of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Sc-Zr alloy.

Molecular detection and genetic diversity of Rickettsia spp. in pet dogs and their infesting ticks in Harbin, northeastern China.

BACKGROUND: Pet dogs are important companion animals that share the environment within households, and play an important role in local community life. In addition, pet dogs also are reservoirs of zoonotic agents, including Rickettsia spp., thus increasing the risk of rickettsial infections in humans. It's meaningful to investigate the epidemiology of rickettsial agents in pet dogs, and make contribute to the surveillance of rickettsioses in human in China. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 496 pet dogs' blood samples and 343 ticks infested in pet dogs were collected, and the presence and prevalence of Rickettsia were determined by amplifying the partial gltA and 17-kDa genes, with an overall positive rate of 8.1 % in blood samples and 14.0 % in tick samples. In addition, the rrs, gltA, groEL, and ompA genes of rickettsial were also recovered to determine the species of Rickettsia detected furtherly. Sequencing blast and phylogenetic analyses revealed the presence of three human pathogenic Rickettsia species (Rickettsia raoultii, Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae and Rickettsia felis) in samples associated with pet dogs. Moreover, all the sequences of Rickettsia that we obtained presented close relationship with others available in GenBank, and Rickettsia raoultii was the most predominant Rickettsia species infected in pet dogs' blood samples or in tick samples. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the molecular epidemiology data about the Rickettsia spp. infection associated with pet dogs in urban areas of Harbin city. Three rickettisae species pathogenic to humans were identified from pet dogs' blood and the infested ticks in urban areas of Harbin city. Considering the intimate relationship between human and pets, these results indicate the potential transmission risk of human rickettisal infections from pet dogs through ectoparasites, and also highlighting that more attention should be paid to rickettsial infection in pet dogs and the infested ticks from the "One health" perspective.

A Multi-Feature Fusion Slam System Attaching Semantic In-Variant to Points and Lines.

The traditional simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system uses static points of the environment as features for real-time localization and mapping. When there are few available point features, the system is difficult to implement. A feasible solution is to introduce line features. In complex scenarios containing rich line segments, the description of line segments is not strongly differentiated, which can lead to incorrect association of line segment data, thus introducing errors into the system and aggravating the cumulative error of the system. To address this problem, a point-line stereo visual SLAM system incorporating semantic invariants is proposed in this paper. This system improves the accuracy of line feature matching by fusing line features with image semantic invariant information. When defining the error function, the semantic invariant is fused with the reprojection error function, and the semantic constraint is applied to reduce the cumulative error of the poses in the long-term tracking process. Experiments on the Office sequence of the TartanAir dataset and the KITTI dataset show that this system improves the matching accuracy of line features and suppresses the cumulative error of the SLAM system to some extent, and the mean relative pose error (RPE) is 1.38 and 0.0593 m, respectively.

Downregulation of lncRNA GAS5 Alleviates Hippocampal Neuronal Damage in Mice with Depression-Like Behaviors Via Modulation of MicroRNA-26a/EGR1 Axis.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidences have demonstrated the roles of several long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in depression. We aim to examine the capabilities of lncRNA growth arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5) on mice with depression-like behaviors and the mechanism of action. METHODS: Fifty-six healthy mice were selected for model establishment. Morris water maze test and trapeze test were performed for evaluating learning and memory ability. The binding relationship between lncRNA GAS5 and microRNA-26a (miR-26a) and the target relationship between miR-26a and EGR1 were verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. The apoptosis of neurons in the hippocampal CA1 region of mice was detected by TUNEL staining. The expression of inflammatory factors, lncRNA GAS5, miR-26a, early growth response gene 1 (EGR1), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway- and apoptosis-related factors in hippocampal tissues was tested by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. RESULTS: miR-26a expression was down-regulated while EGR1 and lncRNA GAS5 expression were up-regulated in hippocampal tissues of mice with depression-like behaviors. LncRNA GAS5 specifically bound to miR-26a and miR-26a targeted EGR1. Silencing of lncRNA GAS5 curtailed the release of inflammatory factors and the apoptosis of hippocampal neuron of mice with depression-like behaviors. EGR1 suppressed PI3K/AKT pathway activation to promote the release of inflammatory factors and the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in mice with depression-like behaviors. CONCLUSION: Our study provides evidence that silencing of lncRNA GAS5 could activate PI3K/AKT pathway to protect hippocampal neurons against damage in mice with depression-like behaviors by regulating the miR-26a/EGR1 axis.

Distribution and molecular characterization of rickettsiae in ticks in Harbin area of Northeastern China.

Tick-borne rickettsioses are world-spreading infectious zoonoses. Ticks serve as reservoirs and vectors for Rickettsia and play a key role in transmission of rickettsioses. Most of the Chinese rickettsiosis patients are reported from Northeastern China but the distribution of tick and tick-borne Rickettsia species in Northeastern China remain poorly studied. In this study, a total of 1,286 ticks were captured from the seven counties of Harbin, an area in Northeastern China, and the tick-borne Rickettsia species were identified by PCR and sequencing of rrs, gltA, groEL, ompA and 17-kDa antigen-encoding genes. Of the 5 identified tick species, Haemaphysalis longicornis and Ixodes persulcatus were the predominant tick species in the livestock and vegetation, respectively. Rickettsia raoultii and "Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae" were the two detectable Rickettsia species in the ticks with a 28.8% positive rate but no rickettsiae were found in ticks of Haemaphysalis concinna. R. raoultii detected in 37.6% of the Dermacentor nuttalli, Dermacentor silvarum and H. longicornis ticks while "Ca. R. tarasevichiae" was only present in 22.8% of the I. persulcatus ticks. In particular, the positive rate of both R. raoultii and "Ca. R. tarasevichiae" in ticks from the livestock (40.7%) was significantly higher than that from the vegetation (19.5%). The results indicate that the tick and tick-borne Rickettsia species are diverse in different regions of Harbin due to geographic difference and the ticks from livestock may play a more important role in transmission of rickettsioses to human.

Prevalence and molecular characterization of Babesia in pet dogs in Shenzhen, China.

Canine babesiosis is an important global tick-borne infectious disease of domestic dogs and wild canids. B. gibsoni and B. vogeli are the most widespread species mainly endemic in dog population in southern and eastern regions of China. In this study, 272 blood samples were collected from pet dogs in five districts of Shenzhen, China. Babesia DNA was detected in 30 samples with an overall prevalence of 11.0 % in pet dogs in Shenzhen. The difference in the positive rate between female and male pet dogs, among different breed, and among the five sampling sites was not significant, while the age and health status of pet dogs significantly influence the positive rate of Babesia spp. infection. Sequencing results showed the presence of only B. vogeli in all of the samples tested. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis revealed that all 30 strains of Babesia identified in this study shared the highest identity with B. vogeli. In sum, all results of this study showed a considerable high infection rate of Babesia spp. in pet dogs, and B. vogeli was the only Babesia species infecting pet dogs in Shenzhen city. Such information is necessary to help to elucidate the epidemiology of canine babesiosis in Shenzhen, and it is necessary to actively monitor this disease in pet dogs.

Promoter Identification and Transcriptional Regulation of the Goose AMH Gene.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is recognized as a reliable marker of ovarian reserve. However, the regulatory mechanism of goose AMH gene remains poorly understood. In the present study, both the full-length coding sequence (CDS) and promoter sequence of goose AMH have been cloned. Its CDS consisted of 2013 nucleotides encoding 670 amino acids and the amino acid sequence contained two structural domain: AMH-N and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) domain. The obtained promoter sequence spanned from the -2386 bp to its transcription start site (ATG). Core promoter regions and regulatory elements were identified as well as transcription factors were predicted in its promoter sequence. The luciferase activity was the highest spanning from the -331 to -1 bp by constructing deletion promoter reporter vectors. In CHO cells, the luciferase activity significantly increased by co-expression of AMH and GATA binding protein 4 (GATA-4), while that significantly decreased by mutating the binding sites of GATA-4 located in the -778 and -1477 bp. Results from quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) indicated that levels of AMH mRNA in geese granulosa layers decreased gradually with the increasing follicular diameter. Taken together, it could be concluded that the transcriptional activity of AMH was activated by GATA-4 to inhibit the development of small follicles in goose.

Molecular evidence of Babesia in pet cats in mainland China.

BACKGROUND: Babesia spp. are important emerging tick-borne protozoan hemoparasites, and pose a great impact on companion animals. Canine babesiosis has been well described worldwide, while felis babesiosis has primarily been reported from South Africa. To the best of our knowledge, Babesia spp. infections in dogs have been well elucidated in pet dog population in China, no report about Babesia spp. infection in cat population in mainland China. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 203 blood samples were collected from pet cats in Shenzhen city, and detected the presence of Babesia spp. with nested-PCR. Sequence comparison based on the 18S rRNA gene and ITS region revealed that three cats (1.48%) were infected with Babesia. vogeli. Notably, the sequences of ITS region obtained in this study shared the highest nucleotide identity with the sequence of B. vogeli strain isolated in cat from Taiwan. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first report about babesiosis in domestic cats, and also provides molecular evidence of Babesia spp. infection in cat in mainland China. The data present in this study suggest B. vogeli may be circulating in cat population in mainland China. Further study to investigate the epidemiology of Babesia infection in cat nationwide is warranted.

Molecular characterization, expression and cellular localization of CYP17 gene during geese (Anser cygnoides) follicular development.

As a key member of the cytochrome P450 gene superfamily, CYP17 gene encodes 17α-hydroxylase/C17,20-lyase that is critical for directing androgen synthesis. The CYP17 gene has been identified in several species, yet little is known about its distribution and expression profile during goose follicular development. In the present study, we obtained the full-length coding sequence of goose CYP17 (gCYP17) gene for the first time using RACE method. Its sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis suggested that gCYP17 was highly conserved with those of other birds and consisted of four main functional domains like other species. Results from immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting suggested that gCYP17 was predominantly located in theca interna throughout follicular development. Furthermore, levels of gCYP17 reached the maximum in theca layer of the 6-8 mm follicles which were significantly higher than in those of other follicles (P < 0.05). In addition, gCYP17 was expressed at much higher levels in the F4 theca layer than the F1 follicle (P < 0.05). Therefore, these results indicated that the fluctuating expression pattern and specific cellular localization of gCYP17 during follicular development might be closely related to androgen secretion, and thereby follicular maturation.

Precipitation of (Si2-xAlx)Hf in an Al-Si-Mg-Hf Alloy.

The morphology, composition, and structure of precipitates in an Al-Si-Mg-Hf alloy after heat treatment at 560°C for 20 h were studied by means of C s -corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and first-principle calculations. Precipitates with three kinds of morphologies were observed. The rectangular and square precipitates were predominantly (Si2-x Al x )Hf phases, while the nanobelt-like precipitate is the Si2Hf phase. First-principle calculations were used to show that the Si6 and Si8 sites were the most favorable sites for Al incorporation in the orthorhombic Si2Hf phase.

Akirin2 could promote the proliferation but not the differentiation of duck myoblasts via the activation of the mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway.

The Akirin gene family normally contains two members that are essential to myoblast differentiation. Noticeably, the avian Akirin gene family comprises only one gene (Akirin2), However, it remains unknown whether avian Akirin gene family still has the function of Akirin1; moreover, it is still unclear whether and how Akirin2 plays a role in myoblast proliferation and differentiation. Interestingly, the unexpected functions of duck Akirin2 were revealed in the present study. The Real-time PCR results showed that between 12 and 48h during the process of duck myoblasts differentiation, the overexpression of Akirin2 did not significantly increase the expression of myogenic regulatory factors. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that the cell cycle transition was accelerated by Akirin2 overexpression. Moreover, the overexpression of Akirin2 did not influence the myotube formation. Strikingly, when duck myoblasts were cultured in the growth medium, the overexpression of Akirin2 significantly enhanced cell viability. Although the expression of cyclin-dependent proteins did not significantly increase after transfection, the expression of the mammalian targets of rapamycin (mTOR) and p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K) increased. Furthermore, the protein expression of phospho-p70S6K (Ser 417) also increased. However, when rapamycin and pEGFP-N1-Akirin2 plasmids were added together to the growth medium, the positive impact of Akirin2 on cell viability and the mRNA expression of mTOR and p70S6K were significantly blocked. Furthermore, the expression of phospho-mTOR (Ser 2448) and phospho-p70S6K (Ser 417) were also blocked. Taken together, these results could suggest that duck Akirin2 could promote myoblast proliferation via the activation of the mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway.

Discovery, Characterization, and Functional Study of a Novel MEF2D CAG Repeat in Duck (Anas platyrhynchos).

Myocyte enhancer transcription factor 2D (MEF2D) is an important transcription factor for promoting the growth and development of muscle. CAG repeats have been found in the coding sequence (CDS) of avian MEF2D; however, their functions remain unknown and require further investigation. Here, we examined the characteristics and functional role of MEF2D CAG repeat in duck. The full-length CDS of duck MEF2D was cloned for the first time, and a novel CAG repeat was identified and located in exon 9. Sequence analysis indicated that the protein domains of duck MEF2D are highly conserved relative to other vertebrates, whereas MEF2D CAG repeats with variable repeat numbers are specific to avian species. Furthermore, sequencing has revealed polymorphisms in MEF2D CAG repeat at both DNA and mRNA levels. Four MEF2D CAG repeat genotypes and 10 MEF2D cDNA variants with different CAG repeat numbers were detected in two duck populations. A t-test showed that the expanded CAG repeat generated significantly longer transcription products (p < 0.05). Association analysis demonstrated positive correlations between the expansion of the CAG repeat and five muscle-related traits. By using protein structure prediction, we suggested that the polymorphisms of the CAG repeat affect protein structures within protein domains. Taken together, these findings reveal that duck MEF2D CAG repeat is a potential functional element with polymorphisms and may cause differences in MEF2D function between duck and other vertebrate species.

Growth Directions of Precipitates in the Al-Si-Mg-Hf Alloy Using Combined EBSD and FIB 3D-Reconstruction Techniques.

Nanobelt-like precipitates in an Al-Si-Mg-Hf alloy were studied using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) and focused ion beam (FIB) scanning electron microscopy techniques. One grain of the Al matrix with a near [111] normal direction was identified by EBSD and the three-dimensional (3D) microstructure of nanobelt-like precipitates in this grain was studied using 3D-FIB. Ten growth directions of the nanobelt-like precipitates in the grain were identified.

Zebrafish transgenic line huORFZ is an effective living bioindicator for detecting environmental toxicants.

Reliable animal models are invaluable for monitoring the extent of pollution in the aquatic environment. In this study, we demonstrated the potential of huORFZ, a novel transgenic zebrafish line that harbors a human upstream open reading frame of the chop gene fused with GFP reporter, as an animal model for monitoring environmental pollutants and stress-related cellular processes. When huORFZ embryos were kept under normal condition, no leaked GFP signal could be detected. When treated with hazardous chemicals, including heavy metals and endocrine-disrupting chemicals near their sublethal concentrations (LC50), huORFZ embryos exhibited different tissue-specific GFP expression patterns. For further analysis, copper (Cu2+), cadmium (Cd2+) and Chlorpyrifos were applied. Cu2+ triggered GFP responses in skin and muscle, whereas Cd2+ treatment triggered GFP responses in skin, olfactory epithelium and pronephric ducts. Moreover, fluorescence intensity, as exhibited by huORFZ embryos, was dose-dependent. After surviving treated embryos were returned to normal condition, survival rates, as well as TUNEL signals, returned to pretreatment levels with no significant morphological defects observed. Such results indicated the reversibility of treatment conditions used in this study, as long as embryos survived such conditions. Notably, GFP signals decreased along with recovery, suggesting that GFP signaling of huORFZ embryos likely reflected the overall physiological condition of the individual. To examine the performance of the huORFZ line under real-world conditions, we placed huORFZ embryos in different river water samples. We found that the huORFZ embryos correctly detected the presence of various kinds of pollutants. Based on these findings, we concluded that such uORFchop-based system can be integrated into a first-line water alarm system monitoring the discharge of hazardous pollutants.