Overview of Functionalized Porous Materials for Rare-Earth Element Separation and Recovery.

The exceptional photoelectromagnetic characteristics of rare-earth elements contribute significantly to their indispensable position in the high-tech industry. The exponential expansion of the demand for high-purity rare earth and related compounds can be attributed to the swift advancement of contemporary technology. Nevertheless, rare-earth elements are finite and limited resources, and their excessive mining unavoidably results in resource depletion and environmental degradation. Hence, it is crucial to establish a highly effective approach for the extraction and reclamation of rare-earth elements. Adsorption is regarded as a promising technique for the recovery of rare-earth elements owing to its simplicity, environmentally friendly nature, and cost-effectiveness. The efficacy of adsorption is contingent upon the performance characteristics of the adsorbent material. Presently, there is a prevalent utilization of porous adsorbent materials with substantial specific surface areas and plentiful surface functional groups in the realm of selectively separating and recovering rare-earth elements. This paper presents a thorough examination of porous inorganic carbon materials, porous inorganic silicon materials, porous organic polymers, and metal-organic framework materials. The adsorption performance and processes for rare-earth elements are the focal points of discussion about these materials. Furthermore, this work investigates the potential applications of porous materials in the domain of the adsorption of rare-earth elements.

Multifunctional Hydrogel Eye Drops for Synergistic Treatment of Ocular Inflammatory Disease.

Uveitis is a complex ocular inflammatory disease with a multifactorial etiology that can result in blindness. Although corticosteroid eye drops are the primary treatment for anterior uveitis, their efficacy is limited by low bioavailability, adverse effects, and a narrow focus on inflammation. In this study, the multifunctional hydrogel eye drops (designated as DCFH) were developed by incorporating the anti-inflammatory agent dexamethasone (DSP) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger cerium-based metal-organic frameworks (Ce-MOFs) into thermosensitive triblock copolymer F127 for the synergistic treatment against uveitis. The resulting F127 eye drops offer a favorable alternative to ophthalmic solution due to its thermosensitivity, thixotropy, light transmittance, improved ocular bioavailability, and unexpected anti-inflammatory efficacy. Notably, the participation of nanoporous Ce-MOFs, functional drug carriers, not only reduces ROS level but also boosts the anti-inflammatory activity of DSP in vitro. Therapeutically, the multifunctional DCFH exhibits superior efficacy in treating endotoxin-induced uveitis by mitigating the ophthalmic inflammatory reaction, suppressing inflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-17) and downregulating the expression of iNOS and NLPR3. This synergistic treatment provides a valuable and promising approach for the management of uveitis and other ocular inflammatory conditions.

A One-Step Electrochemical Aptasensor Based on Signal Amplification of Metallo Nanoenzyme Particles for Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor.

In this study, a one-step electrochemical aptasensor was developed to detect the biomarker vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an important protein in the pathogenesis of many retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, and retinal vein occlusion. The aptamer has a good affinity and can rapidly identify and capture VEGF based on its unique structure. We designed a VEGF aptasensor based on the aptamer recognition and complex metallo nanoenzyme particles as an electron exchange center and bridge between capture DNA and electrode. The aptamers maintained the hairpin structure to avoid nonspecific surface adsorption and expose the capture sequence outwards when the target was inexistent. Conversely, the aptamers opened the hairpin structure to release space to accomplish binding between VEGF and DNA, resulting in increased impedance. The performance of the electrochemical aptasensor is detected by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The limit of detection by EIS was as low as 8.2 pg ml-1, and the linear range was 10 pg ml-1-1 µg ml-1. The electrochemical aptasensor also showed high specificity and reproducibility.

Repeatability and reproducibility of corneal higher-order aberrations measurements after small incision lenticule extraction using the Scheimpflug-Placido topographer.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the precision of corneal higher-order aberrations measurements after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) using the Sirius Scheimpflug-Placido topographer (CSO, Italy). METHODS: Seventy-five eyes from 75 postoperative subjects were included in this prospective study. Three consecutive corneal aberrometric measurements were obtained with the Scheimpflug-Placido topographer by two experienced operators to assess intra- and inter-observer reproducibility. The within-subject standard deviation (Sw), test-retest repeatability (TRT) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated. RESULTS: For intraobserver repeatability of anterior and total corneal aberrations, all ICCs were more than 0.922, except for trefoil (0.722 to 0.768). The ICCs of total root mean square (RMS), coma Z (3, ± 1), and spherical aberration Z (4, 0) were over 0.810 while higher-order RMS, trefoil Z (3, ± 3), and astigmatism II Z (4, ± 2) were below 0.634 for posterior corneal surface aberrations. All Sw values for all types of aberrations were equal to or below 0.07 µm. Regarding interobserver reproducibility, all TRT values were no more than 0.12 µm, 0.05 µm, and 0.11 µm for anterior, posterior, and total corneal aberrations, respectively. The ICC values ranged from 0.875 to 0.989, from 0.686 to 0.976 and over 0.834 for anterior, posterior, and total corneal aberrations, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The repeatability of measurements of anterior and total corneal aberrations with the Sirius system in corneas after SMILE surgery was high, except for trefoil. There was some variability in posterior corneal aberrometric measurements. High reproducibility of corneal aberrometric measurements was observed between measurements of both examiners, except for trefoil, with poor to moderate reproducibility.

Comprehensive comparisons of ocular biometry: A network-based big data analysis.

PURPOSE: To systematically compare and rank ocular measurements with optical and ultrasound biometers based on big data. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and the US trial registry ( www. CLINICALTRIAL: gov ) were used to systematically search trials published up to October 22nd, 2020. We included comparative studies reporting the following parameters measured by at least two devices: axial length (AL), flattest meridian keratometry (Kf), steepest meridian keratometry (Ks), mean keratometry (Km), astigmatism (AST), astigmatism vectors J0 and J45, anterior chamber depth (ACD), aqueous depth (AQD), central corneal thickness (CCT), corneal diameter (CD) and lens thickness (LT). A network-based big data analysis was conducted using STATA version 13.1. RESULTS: Across 129 studies involving 17,181 eyes, 12 optical biometers and two ultrasound biometers (with both contact and immersion techniques) were identified. A network meta-analysis for AL and ACD measurements found that statistically significant differences existed when contact ultrasound biometry was compared with the optical biometers. There were no statistically significant differences among the four swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) based devices (IOLMaster 700, OA-2000, Argos and ANTERION). As for Ks, Km and CD, statistically significant differences were found when the Pentacam AXL was compared with the IOLMaster and IOLMaster 500. There were statistically significant differences for CCT when the OA-2000 was compared to Pentacam AXL, IOLMaster 700, Lenstar, AL-Scan and Galilei G6. CONCLUSION: For AL and ACD, contact ultrasound biometry obtains the lower values compared with optical biometers. The Pentacam AXL achieves the lowest values for keratometry and CD. The smallest value for CCT measurement is found with the OA-2000.