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AIM: To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the influence of hypoxia and alpha-ketoglutaric acid (α-KG) on scleral collagen expression. METHODS: Meta-analysis and clinical statistics were used to prove the changes in choroidal thickness (ChT) during myopia. The establishment of a hypoxic myopia model (HYP) for rabbit scleral fibroblasts through hypoxic culture and the effects of hypoxia and α-KG on collagen expression were demonstrated by Sirius red staining. Transcriptome analysis was used to verify the genes and pathways that hypoxia and α-KG affect collagen expression. Finally, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used for reverse verification. RESULTS: Meta-analysis results aligned with clinical statistics, revealing a thinning of ChT, leading to scleral hypoxia. Sirius red staining indicated lower collagen expression in the HYP group and higher collagen expression in the HYP+α-KG group, showed that hypoxia reduced collagen expression in scleral fibroblasts, while α-KG can elevated collagen expression under HYP conditions. Transcriptome analysis unveiled the related genes and signaling pathways of hypoxia and α-KG affect scleral collagen expression and the results were verified by RT-qPCR. CONCLUSION: The potential molecular mechanisms through which hypoxia and α-KG influencing myopia is unraveled and three novel genes TLCD4, TBC1D4, and EPHX3 are identified. These findings provide a new perspective on the prevention and treatment of myopia via regulating collagen expression.

AIM: To investigate the types of bacteria in patients with eye infections in Suzhou and their drug resistance to commonly used antibacterial drugs. METHODS: The clinical data of 155 patients were retrospectively collected in this study, and the pathogenic bacteria species and drug resistance of each pathogenic bacteria were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 155 patients (age from 12 to 87 years old, with an average age of 57, 99 males and 56 females) with eye infections (160 eyes: 74 in the left eye, 76 in the right eye and 5 in both eyes, all of which were exogenous), 71 (45.81%) strains were gram-positive bacteria, 23 (14.84%) strains were gram-negative bacteria and 61 (39.35%) strains were fungi. Gram-positive bacteria were highly resistant to penicillin and erythromycin (78.87% and 46.48% respectively), but least resistant to vancomycin at 0. Gram-negative bacteria were highly resistant to cefoxitin and compound sulfamethoxazole (100% and 95.65% respectively), but least resistant to meropenem at 0. Comparison of the resistance of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria to some drugs revealed statistically significant differences (P

AIM: To analyze abnormal gene expressions of mice eyes exposed to blue light using RNA-seq and analyze the related signaling pathways. METHODS: Kunming mice were divided into an experimental group that was exposed to blue light and a control group that was exposed to natural light. After 14d, the mice were euthanized and their eyeballs were collected. Whole transcriptome analysis was attempted to analyze the gene expression of the eyeballs using RNA-seq to reconstruct genetic networks. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were used to reveal the related signaling pathways. RESULTS: The 737 differentially expressed genes were identified, including 430 up and 307 down regulated genes, by calculating the gene FPKM in each sample and conducting differential gene analysis. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that blue light damage may associated with the visual perception, sensory perception of light stimulus, phototransduction, and JAK-STAT signaling pathways. Differential lncRNA, circRNA and miRNA analysis showed that blue light exposure affected pathways for retinal cone cell development and phototransduction, among others. CONCLUSION: Exposure to blue light can cause a certain degree of abnormal gene expression and modulate signaling pathways in the eye.

Highly reliable embedded systems have been widely applied in the fields of aerospace, nuclear power, high-speed rail, etc., which are related to security and economic development. The reliability of the power supply directly influences the security of the embedded system, and has been the research focus of numerous electronic information and energy studies. The degradation of power modules occupies a dominant position among the key factors affecting the power supply reliability. How to dynamically determine the degradation state and forecast the remaining useful life of working power modules is critical. Therefore, an online non-intrusive method of obtaining the degradation state of MOSFETs based on the Volterra series is proposed. It uses the self-driving signal of MOSFETs as a non-intrusive incentive, and extracts the degradation characteristics of MOSFETs by the frequency-domain kernel of the Volterra series. Experimental results show that the identification achieved by the method agrees well with the theoretical analysis.

We investigate the existence of multiple positive solutions for three-point boundary value problem of fractional differential equation with -Laplacian operator , where are the standard Riemann-Liouville derivatives with , and the constant is a positive number satisfying ; -Laplacian operator is defined as . By applying monotone iterative technique, some sufficient conditions for the existence of multiple positive solutions are established; moreover iterative schemes for approximating these solutions are also obtained, which start off a known simple linear function. In the end, an example is worked out to illustrate our main results.

Abstract Flame-retardant radiation shielding composites were processed using EVA matrix with magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH) 2), zinc borate (ZB) and bismuth oxide as filler materials. As filler content increased, the elongation at break and tensile strength of the materials decreased. Oxygen index (OI) of composites was higher than 27.2% when ZB content exceed 14 wt%. μ m of materials gradually increased with the increase of bismuth oxide when tested by 137Cs. On the contrary, μ m of materials decreased with the increase of bismuth oxide when tested by 60Co. Neutron shielding ratio of samples gradually increased with the increase of ZB when tested by Am-Be neutron source. Sample E with good comprehensive performances was selected and then modified by high energy EB irradiation. The mechanical properties, flame retardancy, and radiation shielding performances of modified composites were higher than those of the ordinary composites with the same filler mass fraction after being modified by electron beam irradiation with a dose of 175 kGy. Highlights • One kind of lead free radiation shielding polymer composite was fabricated. • Good distribution of filler within the EVA was achieved after 175 kGy irradiation dose. • The EVA composites show better properties after the electron-accelerator irradiation experiments. • The EVA composites can be used in the fields of radiation protection and fire preventive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the existence of multiple positive solutions for three-point boundary value problem of fractional differential equation with p-Laplacian operator -Dtβ(φp(Dtαx))(t) = h(t)f(t,x(t)), t ∈ (0, 1), x(0) = 0, Dtyx(1) = aDtyx(ξ), Dtαx(0) = 0 where Dtβ, Dtα, Dty are the standard Riemann-Liouville derivatives with 1 < α ≤2, 0 < β ≤1, 0 α-y-2 ≤ 1 - y; p-Laplacian operator is deined as φp(s) = |s|p-2s, p > 1. By applying monotone iterative technique, some suicient conditions for the existence of multiple positive solutions are established; moreover iterative schemes for approximating these solutions are also obtained, which start of a known simple linear function. In the end, an example is worked out to illustrate our main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal was to manufacture carbon/carbon (C/C) composites through a unique procedure with improved biocompatibility and reduced debris release. C/C composites were prepared by chemical vapor deposition, and their biological properties were analyzed. With regard to mechanical properties, compressive strength/modulus was 219.1 MPa/9.72 GPa, flexural strength/modulus was 121.63 MPa/21.9 GPa, and interlaminar sheer was 15.13 GPa. Biocompatibility testing revealed: (1) the extract liquid from the C/C composites had no effect on cell proliferation; (2) the extract had no impact on micronucleus frequency as compared with the control groups ( P > 0.05); (3) in vivo, there was mild tissue inflammation after implantation within the first 2 weeks, but there was no significant difference compared with the control group ( P > 0.05); (4) the implants were well integrated into the host tissue, and debris was limited. The tested samples have excellent biocompatibilities and reduced release of debris. The demonstrated changes in manufacturing procedures are promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented reporting on a rare jejunal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), an intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), and a pulmonary hamartoma.