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Aims/Background Nerve growth factor has been approved for treating neurotrophic keratitis in Europe and the United States. However, its clinical efficacy and safety profile in neurotrophic keratitis patients have not been systematically evaluated. Therefore, this study systematically assessed the efficacy and safety of nerve growth factor (NGF) in treating patients with neurotrophic keratitis. Methods Various databases, including Wanfang, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI), Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science were systematically searched. This search included all articles published up to January 2024. Moreover, these articles were thoroughly reviewed and carefully screened following predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Furthermore, the quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Manual 5.3 (The Cochrane Collaboration, London, UK). Stata26.0 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX, USA) was used for meta-analysis. The outcome indicators evaluated in this study included corneal healing efficiency, corneal complete healing rate, best vision correction rate, ailment progression, and the number of adverse events. Results A total of 4 articles were included in this study, including 293 sufferers. The findings from the meta-analysis revealed that the corneal healing efficiency (odds ratio (OR) = 1.72, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20–2.45), the corneal complete healing rate (OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.41–3.54), and the best visual acuity correction rate (OR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.11–3.47) were significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group. However, the incidence of ailment progression (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.17–1.13) and adverse events (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.50–1.56) did not show significant differences between these two groups. Conclusion In summary, for patients with neuropathic keratitis, NGF treatment can promote corneal healing efficiency, effectively improve visual correction, and reduce disease progression and incidence of adverse events to a large extent. The clinical effect and safety are high, and it is worthy of clinical promotion and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utility tunnels are crucial infrastructure projects for cities. Earthquakes are a leading cause of damage to these tunnels. The effect of a non-homogeneous site, as a complex site, on the seismic response of utility tunnels cannot be ignored. Therefore, in this study, a non-homogeneous three-dimensional finite element model of a utility tunnel was created using the ABAQUS 2021 software. El Centro seismic waves were inputted while changing the structural depth of burial to investigate the utility tunnel's seismic response. This research is expected to further clarify the seismic variation in the utility tunnel under complex site conditions. The results show the following: (1) The impact of structure burial depth on the utility tunnel in a non-homogeneous site should not be neglected. The peak acceleration shows a decreasing and then increasing trend with increasing depth of burial within 10 m. Under the same site conditions, the peak accelerations and amplification factors of the soil in the clay are larger than those in the sand. (2) In identical site conditions, the utility tunnel structure experiences larger peak displacements in clay compared to sand. As the structure is buried deeper, the peak displacement of the utility tunnel gradually decreases, while the rate of decrease in the peak displacement of the utility tunnel structure gradually increases. The rate of decrease in peak displacement in clay is greater than that in sand. (3) The stress distribution of the utility tunnel structure changes as the depth of the structure increases. In the clay area, the utility tunnel structure shifts from transverse bending deformation to vertical bending deformation. In the sand area, it maintains transverse bending deformation due to the non-homogeneous site. The findings from this study offer guidance for building utility tunnels on non-homogeneous sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]