Search

Purpose. To compare the change of anterior corneal higher-order aberrations (HOAs) after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), wavefront-guided LASIK with iris registration (WF-LASIK), femtosecond laser-assisted laser in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK), and small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). Methods. In a prospective study, 82 eyes underwent LASIK, 119 eyes underwent WF-LASIK, 88 eyes underwent FS-LASIK, and 170 eyes underwent SMILE surgery. HOAs were measured with Pentacam device preoperatively and 6 months after surgery. The aberrations were described as Zernike polynomials, and analysis focused on total HOAs, spherical aberration (SA), horizontal coma, and vertical coma over 6 mm diameter central corneal zone. Results. Six months postoperatively, all procedures result in increase of anterior corneal total HOAs and SA. There were no significant differences in the induced HOAs between LASIK and FS-LASIK, while SMILE induced fewer total HOAs and SA compared with LASIK and FS-LASIK. Similarly, WF-LASIK also induced less total HOAs than LASIK and FS-LASIK, but only fewer SA than FS-LASIK (P

Planting under plastic-film mulches is widely used in spring maize production in arid-cold regions for water conservation and warming the soil. To ameliorate the associated issues such as plastic-film residues and additional labor during the “seedling release” in spring maize production, we have developed a plastic-film-side seeding (PSS) technology with the supporting machinery. In the semi-arid regions of Northwest China, a 7-year trial demonstrated that PSS increased plant number per hectare by 6 547 and maize yield by 1 686 kg ha–1 compared with the traditional method of seeding under plastic-film mulch (PM). Two-year experiments were conducted in two semi-arid regions to further understand the effects of PSS on three important aspects of production: (i) the moisture and temperature of soil, (ii) maize development, yield output, and water use efficiency (WUE), and (iii) the revenue and plastic-film residuals in comparison with that of flat planting (CK) and PM. Continuous monitoring of the soil status demonstrated that, compared with CK, the PSS treatment significantly increased the temperature and moisture of the 0–20 cm soil in the seeding row at the early stage of maize development, and it also promoted grain yield (at 884–1 089 kg ha–1) and WUE, achieving a similar effect as the PM treatment. Economically, the labor inputs of PSS were equal to CK, whereas the PM cost an additional 960 CNY ha–1 in labor for releasing the seedlings from below the film. Overall, the PSS system increased profits by 5.83% (547 CNY ha–1 yr–1) and 8.16% (748 CNY ha–1 yr–1) compared with CK and PM, respectively. Environmentally, PSS achieved a residual film recovery rate of nearly 100% and eliminated 96 to 130 kg ha–1 of residual plastic-film in PM in 3–5 years of maize production. Collectively, these results show that PSS is an eco-friendly technique for improving yield stability and incomes for the sustainable production of maize in semi-arid regions.

Background Epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene ε2/ε3/ε4 polymorphism and glaucoma susceptibility. However, the published data are still inconclusive. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of APOE gene ε2/ε3/ε4 polymorphism on glaucoma risk by using meta-analysis. Methods A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Elsevier Science Direct and CNKI databases was conducted to identify relevant articles, with the last report up to January 5, 2014. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to assess the strength of association by using the fixed or random effect model. Results Fifteen separate studies including 2,700 cases and 2,365 controls were included in the metaanalysis. We did not detect a significant association between APOE gene ε2/ε3/ε4 polymorphism and glaucoma in overall population (P > 0.0083). In Asians, we detected an association of the ε4ε4 genotype with elevated risk for glaucoma (OR = 5.22, 95%CI = 1.85- 14.68, P = 0.002), mainly for primary open angle glaucoma (OR = 4.98, 95%CI = 1.75- 14.20, P = 0.003). Conclusions The meta-analysis suggests that APOE gene ε4ε4 may be associated with elevated risk for primary open angle glaucoma in Asians. However, more epidemiologic studies based on larger sample size, case-control design and stratified by ethnicity as well as types of glaucoma are suggested to further clarify the relationship between APOE gene ε2/ε3/ε4 polymorphism and genetic predisposition to glaucoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A leftward motion of the ventricular septum prior to ejection, known as the septal flash (SF), is frequently observed in patients with left bundle-branch block (LBBB). We investigated whether the abnormal motion of the ventricular septum affects right ventricle (RV) contractile performance in LBBB patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Forty-four patients with complete LBBB were selected using standard 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs), with 30 healthy individuals serving as controls. According to the presence of SF, patients with LBBB were allocated to two subgroups: those with SF (LBBB-SF, n = 24) and those without SF (LBBB-NSF, n = 20). RV longitudinal strain (LS) decreased in LBBB patients with preserved LVEF compared to control subjects (p = 0.002). And RV LS decreased significantly in LBBB-SF patients compared to NSF-LBBB patients (p = 0.04). RV LS correlated negatively with involved septal myocardial segments of SF (r = −0.36, p = 0.02), but did not correlate with the magnitude of SF. RV contractile performance deceased in LBBB patients with preserved LVEF. SF, particularly the extent of this phenomenon, may further affect RV contractile performance.