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To evaluate artificial intelligence (AI) models based on objective indices and raw corneal data from the Scheimpflug Pentacam HR system (OCULUS Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) for the detection of clinically unaffected eyes in patients with asymmetric keratoconus (AKC) eyes.A total of 1108 eyes of 1108 patients were enrolled, including 430 eyes from normal control subjects, 231 clinically unaffected eyes from patients with AKC, and 447 eyes from keratoconus (KC) patients. Eyes were divided into a training set (664 eyes), a test set (222 eyes) and a validation set (222 eyes). AI models were built based on objective indices (XGBoost, LGBM, LR and RF) and entire corneal raw data (KerNet). The discriminating performances of the AI models were evaluated by accuracy and the area under the ROC curve (AUC).The KerNet model showed great overall discriminating power in the test (accuracy = 94.67%, AUC = 0.985) and validation (accuracy = 94.12%, AUC = 0.990) sets, which were higher than the index-derived AI models (accuracy = 84.02%-86.98%, AUC = 0.944-0.968). In the test set, the KerNet model demonstrated good diagnostic power for the AKC group (accuracy = 95.24%, AUC = 0.984). The validation set also proved that the KerNet model was useful for AKC group diagnosis (accuracy = 94.12%, AUC = 0.983).KerNet outperformed all the index-derived AI models. Based on the raw data of the entire cornea, KerNet was helpful for distinguishing clinically unaffected eyes in patients with AKC from normal eyes.

Blood-retinal barrier (BRB) breakdown is responsible for multiple ocular diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and retinal vascular occlusive diseases. Increased vascular permeability contributes to vasogenic edema and tissue damage, with consequent adverse effects on vision. Herein, we found that endothelial CYP2J2 overexpression maintained BRB integrity after ischemia-reperfusion injury and consequently protected against retinal ganglion cell loss. Oxidative stress repressed endothelial ANXA1 expression in vivo and in vitro. CYP2J2 upregulated methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) expression and hence promoted ANXA1 translation via ANXA1 m

The hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway plays an essential role in both tissue development and homeostasis. Glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (Gli1) is one of the vital transcriptional factors as well as the direct target gene in the Hh signaling pathway. The cells expressing the Gli1 gene (Gli1+ cells) have been identified as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are responsible for various tissue developments, homeostasis, and injury repair. This review outlines some recent discoveries on the crucial roles of Gli1+ MSCs in the development and homeostasis of varieties of hard and soft tissues.

Alkali burn is a potentially blinding corneal injury. During the progression of alkali burn-induced injury, overwhelmed oxidative stress in the cornea triggers cell damage, including oxidative changes in cellular macromolecules and lipid peroxidation in membranes, leading to impaired corneal transparency, decreased vision, or even blindness. In this study, we identified that ferroptosis, a type of lipid peroxidation-dependent cell death, mediated alkali burn-induced corneal injury. Ferroptosis-targeting therapy protected the cornea from cell damage and neovascularization. However, the specific ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) is hydrophobic and cannot be directly applied in the clinic. Therefore, we developed Fer-1-loaded liposomes (Fer-1-NPs) to improve the bioavailability of Fer-1. Our study demonstrated that Fer-1-NPs exerted remarkable curative effects regarding corneal opacity and neovascularization in vivo. The efficacy was comparable to that of dexamethasone, but without appreciable side effects. The significant suppression of ferroptosis (induced by lipid peroxidation and mitochondria disruption), inflammation, and neovascularization might be the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of Fer-1-NPs. Moreover, the Fer-1-NPs treatment showed no signs of cytotoxicity, hematologic toxicity, or visceral organ damage, which further confirmed the biocompatibility. Overall, Fer-1-NPs provide a new prospect for safe and effective therapy for corneal alkali burn.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells with the ability to self-renew and to differentiate into any cell types of the 3 germ layers. Recent studies have demonstrated that there is a strong connection between mitochondrial function and pluripotency. Here, we report that methyltransferase like (Mettl) 17, identified from the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats knockout screen, is required for proper differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). Mettl17 is located in mitochondria through its N-terminal targeting sequence and specifically interacts with 12S mitochondrial ribosomal RNA (mt-rRNA) as well as small subunits of mitochondrial ribosome (MSSUs). Loss of Mettl17 affects the stability of both 12S mt-rRNA and its associated proteins of MSSUs. We further showed that Mettl17 is an S-adenosyl methionine (SAM)-binding protein and regulates mitochondrial ribosome function in a SAM-binding-dependent manner. Loss of Mettl17 leads to around 70% reduction of m4C840 and 50% reduction of m5C842 of 12S mt-rRNA, revealing the first regulator of the m4C840 and indicating a crosstalk between the 2 nearby modifications. The defects of mitochondrial ribosome caused by deletion of Mettl17 lead to the impaired translation of mitochondrial protein-coding genes, resulting in significant changes in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and cellular metabolome, which are important for mESC pluripotency.-Shi, Z., Xu, S., Xing, S., Yao, K., Zhang, L., Xue, L., Zhou, P., Wang, M., Yan, G., Yang, P., Liu, J., Hu, Z., Lan, F. Mettl17, a regulator of mitochondrial ribosomal RNA modifications, is required for the translation of mitochondrial coding genes.

Despite the recent breakthrough in cataract drug development, further improvements have been limited by the lack of human in vitro cataract disease models. This study, therefore, aims to generate a qualified cataract disease model. Mature lentoid bodies (LBs) on Day 25 (D25), which were differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using the "fried egg" method, were continually culturing (control) or extra treated with either ultraviolet (UV) radiation or hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ). The LBs' shape alteration and opacity were examined using light microscopy and mean gray value evaluation. Their structure and crystallin expression were examined using immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot were used to investigate the potential role of autophagy in cloudy LBs. Mature LBs became cloudy with time which was accelerated by H2 O2 . Immunofluorescence examinations and TEM showed that the H2 O2 -treated and control LBs had similar shapes, lens capsule, and monolayer lens epithelial cell (LEC) structures. However, we were unable to do further assessment of the UV-treated LBs as the structures of LBs were easily damaged when treated with UV radiation. Cells containing aggregated protein (αA-crystallin and αB-crystallin) puncta were more abundant in the H2 O2 -treated LBs as compared with control LBs. Moreover, LC3B expression decreased with age in anterior lens capsules obtained from age-related cataracts (ARCs) patients as compared with LC3B levels in primary LECs, which is consistent with that LC3B expression in LBs was lower on D45 than on D25. Our study found that human iPSCs-derived LBs became cloudy with time which was accompanied by protein aggregation, and this phenomenon was accelerated by H2 O2 , suggesting that LBs with extending culture may serve as a human model for in vitro ARCs.

Osteosarcoma is the primary human malignant tumor affecting bone. This cancer most frequently arises in children and adolescents, with a second peak in those over the age of 50. Currently, surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the main treatments, but long-term positive effects are very poor. Aurora B kinase is a serine/threonine kinase that is a key regulator of cell cycle and mitosis. Tissue array analysis revealed that Aurora B kinase is overexpressed in osteosarcoma compared with normal bone tissue. We developed a compound, HOI-07 [i.e., (E)-3-((E)-4-(benzo[d] [1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-2-oxobut-3-en-1-ylidene)indolin-2-one], as a specific Aurora B kinase inhibitor and examined its effectiveness against osteosarcoma cell growth in this study. This compound inhibited Aurora B kinase activity in osteosarcoma and induced apoptosis, caused G2-M phase arrest, and attenuated osteosarcoma anchorage-independent cell growth. Moreover, knocking down the expression of Aurora B effectively reduced the sensitivity of osteosarcoma to HOI-07. Results of a xenograft mouse study indicated that HOI-07 treatment effectively suppressed the growth of 143B and KHOS xenografts, without affecting the body weight of mice. The expression of phosphorylated histone H3 (Ser10) was reduced in mice treated with HOI-07. Overall, we identified HOI-07 as a specific Aurora B kinase inhibitor for osteosarcoma treatment and this compound warrants further investigation.

Background This study aims to identify the underlying genetic defects of β‐crystallin (CRYB) genes responsible for congenital cataracts in a group of Chinese families. Methods Detailed family history and clinical data of six Chinese families with autosomal dominant congenital cataracts were recorded. Targeted exome sequencing was applied to detect the underlying genetic defects for the families. Generated variants were confirmed by PCR and sanger sequencing. Afterward, bioinformatic analysis through several computational predictive programs was performed to assess impacts of mutations on protein structure and function. Results A total of 53 participants (23 affected and 30 unaffected) from six unrelated Chinese families were recruited. Cataract phenotypes covered nuclear, total, posterior polar, pulverulent, snowflake‐like, and zonular. Through targeted exome sequencing, six mutations in four β‐crystallin genes were revealed which included five missense mutations CRYBB1 p.Q70P, CRYBB2 p.E23Q, CRYBB2 p.A49V, CRYBB2 R188C, CRYBA4 p.M14K and one splice mutation CRYBB3 c.75+1 G>A. In silico results predicted pathogenic for all four missense variants except variant CRYBB2‐p.A49V yielded results as tolerant. The CRYBB3 c.75+1 G>A splice site mutation was predicted to be deleterious by leading to a broken splice site, a premature stop codon, and subsequently resulting in a short peptide of 113 amino acids, which may affect protein features. Conclusion The obtained results expanded mutational and phenotype spectrum of β‐crystallin genes and offer clues for pathogenesis of congenital cataracts. The data also demonstrated that targeted exome sequencing is valuable for providing molecular diagnostic information for congenital cataract patients., A total of 53 participants (23 affected and 30 unaffected) from six unrelated Chinese families were recruited. Cataract phenotypes covered nuclear, total, posterior polar, pulverulent, snowflake‐like, and zonular. Through targeted exome sequencing, six new mutations in four β‐crystallin genes were revealed which included five missense mutations CRYBB1 p.Q70P, CRYBB2 p.E23Q, CRYBB2 p.A49V, CRYBB2 R188C, CRYBA4 p.M14K, and one splice mutation CRYBB3 c.75+1 G>A.

Neonatal cataracts remain the most common cause of visual loss in children worldwide and have diverse, often unknown, etiologies. This review summarizes current knowledge about the detection, treatment, genetics, risk factors, and molecular mechanisms of congenital cataracts. We emphasize significant progress and topics requiring further study in both clinical cataract therapy and basic lens research. Advances in genetic screening and surgical technologies have improved the diagnosis, management, and visual outcomes of affected children. For example, mutations in lens crystallins and membrane/cytoskeletal components that commonly underlie genetically inherited cataracts are now known. However, many questions still remain regarding the causes, progression, and pathology of neonatal cataracts. Further investigations are also required to improve diagnostic criteria for determining the timing of appropriate interventions, such as the implantation of intraocular lenses and postoperative management strategies, to ensure safety and predictable visual outcomes for children. Birth Defects Research 109:734-743, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This paper performs a cointegration analysis using an Error Correction Model (ECM) on annual rice prices to measure and compare market integration in China and Japan during the nineteenth century. We find markets in Japan were more integrated than in China at both the regional and national levels during the period. Moreover, market integration in Japan improved during industrialisation. These findings support the view that a well-integrated market is a cause as well as a result of economic growth.

Background To explore efficacy and safety outcomes in patients undergoing femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) versus manual phacoemulsification cataract surgery (PCS). Design Prospective consecutive nonrandomized comparative cohort study. Participants A total of 124 eyes from 106 patients (70 in FLACS and 54 in PCS). Methods Comparison of FLACS with PCS over 6 months. Main outcome measures Macular central subfield thickness (CST), cube volume (CV), cube average thickness (CAT), endothelial cell density (ECD), central corneal thickness (CCT) and photon count value (PCV). Results CST, CV and CAT increased postoperatively, which did not return to preoperative levels by 6 months. The values were similar between groups throughout the follow-up, and comparison of changes from baseline also showed no significant difference. Preoperative ECD showed significant difference, which decreased postoperatively and remained stable during follow-up, being lowest at 1 month. FLACS had greater endothelial cell loss than PCS, which was not significant. CCT in both groups increased, reaching maximum on day one and tended to decrease thereafter. No significant differences were found regarding postoperative values and the mean increase. In both groups, mean PCV increased from preoperatively to day one, week one and month one. Flare values in FLACS were lower than PCS, reaching statistical significance at 6 months (P = 0.001). However, the differences in changes of PCV were not significantly different at any visit. Conclusions Both FLACS and PCS achieved similar safety and efficacy outcomes for performing cataract surgery. Flare values in eyes with FLACS were lower than those with PCS at 6 months postoperatively.

Coxiella burnetii is a highly infectious bacterium and potential agent of bioterrorism. However, it has not been studied as extensively as other biological agents, and very few of its proteins have been structurally characterized. To address this situation, we undertook a study of critical metabolic enzymes in C. burnetii that have great potential as drug targets. We used high-throughput techniques to produce novel crystal structures of 48 of these proteins. We selected one protein, C. burnetii dihydrofolate reductase (CbDHFR), for additional work to demonstrate the value of these structures for structure-based drug design. This enzyme's structure reveals a feature in the substrate binding groove that is different between CbDHFR and human dihydrofolate reductase (hDHFR). We then identified a compound by in silico screening that exploits this binding groove difference, and demonstrated that this compound inhibits CbDHFR with at least 25-fold greater potency than hDHFR. Since this binding groove feature is shared by many other prokaryotes, the compound identified could form the basis of a novel antibacterial agent effective against a broad spectrum of pathogenic bacteria.

Summary Although it is believed that carnosine has protective effects on various cell types, its effect on microvascular endothelial cells has not been well defined. In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of carnosine in microvascular endothelial cells using an in vitro rotenone-induced oxidative stress model. Mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells were exposed to 1 μmol/L rotenone for 18 h. In some experiments, carnosine (100 nmol/L–1 mmol/L) was added 30 min prior to rotenone exposure. When used, histamine receptor antagonists (100 nmol/L–10 μmol/L) were added 15 min before carnosine treatment. After rotenone exposure, apoptosis of microvascular cells was analysed by Hoechst 33342 staining, whereas mitochondrial membrane potential was assessed by JC-1 staining. Intracellular carnosine and histamine levels were determined using HPLC or ultra-HPLC. Over the range 1 μmol/L–1 mmol/L, carnosine concentration-dependently decreased the number of apoptotic cells after 18 h exposure to rotenone. This effect was reversed by the histamine H1 receptor antagonists pyrilamine and diphenhydramine (1 and 10 μmol/L) and the H2 receptor antagonists cimetidine (100 nmol/L–10 μmol/L) and zolatidine (10 μmol/L). α-Fluoromethylhistidine (100 μmol/L), a selective and irreversible inhibitor of histidine decarboxylase, also significantly inhibited the protective effects of carnosine. At 0.1 mmol/L, carnosine restored the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential after 6 h exposure to 1 μmol/L rotenone and this effect was also reversed by the H1 and H2 receptor antagonists. Moreover, intracellular carnosine levels increased as early as 1 h after carnosine treatment, whereas intracellular histamine levels increased 18 h after carnosine treatment. The results of the present study indicate that carnosine protects brain microvascular endothelial cells against rotenone-induced oxidative stress injury via histamine H1 and H2 receptors. The findings suggest that carnosine may be beneficial in the treatment of microvascular endothelial dysfunction induced by oxidative stress.

Background: To evaluate the visual outcomes of conductive keratoplasty for relief of symptomatic presbyopia of pseudophakia with monofocal intraocular lens implantation. Design: It was a prospective clinical study and set in Eye Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University. Participants: This study comprised 27 eyes from 27 patients with presbyopia symptom. Methods: The patients received conductive keratoplasty via monovision approach after monofocal intraocular lens implantation and were followed up at 1 week and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Main Outcome Measures: The main outcomes including uncorrected near visual acuity, uncorrected distance visual acuity, best spectacle-corrected visual acuity, manifest refraction spherical equivalent, keratometric astigmatism, contrast and glare sensitivity, spherical aberration and pseudoaccommodation were evaluated. Results: Twelve months after conductive keratoplasty, the binocular uncorrected near visual acuity was significantly improved from logMAR 0.88 ± 0.16 preoperatively to logMAR 0.30 ± 0.13 (P

The design and synthesis of complex molecules from simple starting materials in minimum steps is one of the most challenging goals in organic synthesis. As such, cycloaddition reactions catalyzed by transition-metal complexes have been of continuing interest to chemists owing to their efficiency in constructing complicated molecules from much simpler starting materials in atomand step-economical fashions. One representative example in this line is the development of transition-metal-catalyzed cycloadditions for synthesizing cyclooctane ring systems, observed in several classes of natural products, many of which exhibit significant and broad-ranging biological activities. The transition-metal-catalyzed cycloaddition reactions to give cyclooctanes usually take place through many elementary organometallic reaction steps (such as oxidative addition, reductive elimination) so that the unfavorable factors (such as high degree of ring strain, unfavorable transannular interactions, and unfavorable entropy and enthalpy penalties) associated with the classical synthesis of eight-membered carbocycles can be partially or totally circumvented. Several groups have reported elegant transition-metal-catalyzed cycloaddition approaches to eight-membered carbocycles. Recently, we have also developed a two-component [(5+2)+1] cycloaddition of ene-vinylcyclopropanes (ene-VCPs) and CO that provides an efficient way to obtain fused [5-8] and [6-8] ring systems, exemplified by the reactions shown in Scheme 1. This method provides a new opportunity for the total synthesis of natural products containing [5-8] and [6-8] bicyclic skeletons. It is found that eight-membered carbocycles in many natural products are fused or bridge-fused with one or more fiveor six-membered carbocycles. For examples, the diterperne paclitaxel taxol (1), fusicoauritone (2), and aleurodiscal (3) are natural compounds containing [6-8-6] tricyclic, [5-8-5] tricyclic, and [5-6-8-5] tetracyclic cores (Scheme 2), respectively. As a result, one-pot synthesis of the [5-8-5] tricyclic skeleton or a taxol skeleton would be highly demanded from a synthetic point of view. Even though several spectacular strategies applying Cope rearrangement or electrocyclization have been developed for

An industrial process may operate over a range of conditions to produce different grades of product. With a data-based model, as conditions change, a different process model must be developed. Adapting existing process models can allow using fewer experiments for the development of a new process model, resulting in a saving of time, cost, and effort. Process similarity is defined and classified based on process representation. A model migration strategy is proposed for one type of process similarity, family similarity, which involves developing a new process model by taking advantage of an existing base model, and process attribute information. A model predicting melt-flow-length in injection molding is developed and tested as an example and shown to give satisfactory results.

Indiscriminately suppressing total c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activity is not an appropriate strategy because each JNK appears to have a distinct function in cancer, asthma, diabetes, or Parkinson’s disease. Herein, we report that 7-(6-N-phenylaminohexyl)amino-2H-anthra[1,9-cd]pyrazol-6-one (AV-7) inhibited JNK1 activity, but not JNK2 or JNK3. We found that ultraviolet B (UVB) induced c-Jun phosphorylation and sub-G1 accumulation in JNK2−/− murine embryonic fibroblasts, which contain an abundance of JNK1, but not JNK2. These results demonstrate that AV-7 is an isoform selective small-molecule inhibitor of JNK1 activity, which might be developed as a therapeutic against diabetes.Structured summaryMINT-7148332: JNK3 (uniprotkb:P53779) phosphorylates (MI:0217) c-JUN (uniprotkb:P05412) by protein kinase assay (MI:0424)MINT-7148323: JNK2 (uniprotkb:P45984) phosphorylates (MI:0217) c-JUN (uniprotkb:P05412) by protein kinase assay (MI:0424)MINT-7148314: JNK1 (uniprotkb:P45983) phosphorylates (MI:0217) c-JUN (uniprotkb:P05412) by protein kinase assay (MI:0424)

To obtain the composite with a function of corrosion resistance in seawater and microbial environment, we apply low toxic electrolyte which contained Cr 3+ instead of Cr 6+ as a chromium source to produce Ni-P-Cr/TiO 2 , Ni-P-Cr/ZrO 2 nanocomposite coatings, and Ni-P-Cr/TiO 2 microcomposite coating using direct current (DC) electrodeposits technique. The surface morphology, texture, and composition of the composite coatings are characterized by SEM, XRD, and EDX measurements, respectively. The corrosion behavior of the composite coatings is evaluated by polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results with more positive-shifting E corr , lowest i corr , and relatively high value of polarization resistance (R p ) proved that compared with other composite coatings, Ni-P-Cr/TiO 2 nanocomposite coating with its better passive film and unique antibacterial activity caused by TiO 2 nanoparticles incorporated, displayed excellent antibacterial and corrosion resistance property, consistent to the phenomenon that corrosion of this nanocomposite coating in SRB culture medium is not observed.

PURPOSE To compare spherical aberration, visual performance and pseudoaccommodation in pseudophakic eyes implanted with aspheric intraocular lenses (IOLs) of Tecnis Z9001 with negative spherical aberration (AMO Inc.), aspheric aberration-free IOLs of Akreos AO (Bausch & Lomb Inc.) and spherical IOLs of KS-1 (Cannon Staar Inc.). METHODS A total of 196 patients presenting for cataract surgery were randomly assigned to receive one of three types of IOLs in one eye. Spherical aberration, best-corrected far visual acuity (BCFVA), distance corrected near visual acuity (DCNVA), contrast sensitivity, glare sensitivity and pseudoaccommodation were measured and compared 3 months postoperatively. RESULTS At 3 months postoperatively, the mean spherical aberration Z(4,0) for 5 mm pupil size in eyes with Tecnis Z9001 IOLs, Akreos AO IOLs, and KS-1 IOLs were 0.022 +/- 0.071 microm, 0.141 +/- 0.070 microm and 0.210 +/- 0.108 microm, respectively (P < 0.001), and significant difference was also found in two aspheric IOLs (P < 0.001). Compared with spherical KS-1 IOLs, Tecnis Z9001 IOLs significantly improved the contrast sensitivity at 4.0 degrees, 2.5 degrees visual angle and glare sensitivity at 4.0 degrees, 2.5 degrees, 2.0 degrees, 1.6 degrees visual angle, Akreos AO IOLs significantly improved contrast sensitivity at 2.5 degrees and glare sensitivity at 4.0 degrees, 2.5 degrees, 2.0 degrees, but no difference statistically significance were found between two aspheric IOLs at any visual angle. In addition, there was no significant difference among three IOLs regarding BCFVA, DCNVA and pseudoaccommodation. CONCLUSIONS All the studied IOLs can provide good visual acuity. Compared with spherical IOLs, both aspheric IOLs can significantly decrease spherical aberration and improve visual performance without the reduction of pseudoaccommodation amplitude.

Closed-loop control of key process variables in injection molding has become an essential part of the quality assurance system. Advanced control algorithms such as adaptive control and model predictive control have been adopted to deal with the inherent process nonlinearity and time-varying characteristics. These control algorithms are all focused on single-cycle control performance. Recently, a multicycle, two-dimensional model predictive learning control has been developed for batch process control. This method has been applied to injection molding. In this paper, the basic principles of these control algorithms are introduced, with the control performance demonstrated by injection velocity control. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 27:217–223, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20135

Purpose: To analyse the in vitro adherence of Staphylococcus epidermidis to the 2-methacryloyl oxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)-modified silicone intraocular lens (IOL). Methods: The test IOLs were modified by using an air plasma treatment to bind MPC to the surface. The control IOLs were not modified. Chemical changes on the IOL surface were analysed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to confirm the covalent binding of MPC. IOL hydrophilicity was determined by measuring the water contact angle. Two different techniques, direct counting of viable adherent bacteria released by sonication, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were used to observe and compare the adherence of S. epidermidis to the IOLs after 1- and 18-h incubation. Results: XPS analysis confirmed that the test IOLs were surface-modified with MPC. The hydrophilicity of the IOLs was improved by surface modification, and the MPC-modified IOLs exhibited significantly reduced adhesion of S. epidermidis (P = 0.002) after an incubation period of 1 h. The SEM results showed that the MPC modification also suppressed the accumulation of bacteria and biofilm production after 18 h incubation. Conclusions: MPC-modified hydrophilic silicone IOLs reduce bacterial adherence and colonization, and thus may help reduce the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis.

It is desirable to control injection molding barrel temperatures to set-point with a minimal start-up time and near-zero overshoot for productivity and product quality. This paper, based on time optimal control, developed a start-up procedure leading to the optimal heating up profile with the shortest rising time with small overshoot. The design parameters are obtained automatically through one simple open-loop test. Experiments show that the proposed control achieves the design purpose under different conditions. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:254–261, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.

Upon deprotonation, title compounds (I) undergo ring contraction to the corresponding quinolone-2,4-diones (II) with high enantioselectivity.

Synthetically challenging eight-membered carbocycles are prepared and a wide range of aromatic and aliphatic substituents is tolerated.