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Abstract Background Obesity and overweight, as determined by the body mass index (BMI), are harmful to metabolic health. However, the BMI can not reflect body composition or fat distribution. The fat-free mass index (FFMI) and the fat mass index (FMI) can provide more information on body composition. The aim of the observational research was to determine whether the FMI and the FFMI are significantly associated with the risk of developing diabetes and prediabetes. Methods The investigators included data for 10,085 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011–2018) participants aged over 20 years who underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The FFMI and the FMI were determined based on total fat mass and lean mass measured by DXA. Diabetes and prediabetes status were determined by medical history and laboratory examination. Logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the correlations between the FMI/FFMI and the risk of developing diabetes/prediabetes. Restricted cubic spline analysis was used to explore underlying nonlinear associations. Results In the present study, 1,135 patients were diagnosed with diabetes, 3,258 had prediabetes, and 5,692 were classified as control participants. The FFMI (odds ratio (OR) = 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04–1.16) and the FMI (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04–1.12) were independently related to an increased risk of developing diabetes. Moreover, the FFMI (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.02–1.16) and the FMI (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.02–1.13) also independently correlated with a rising risk of developing prediabetes. The restricted cubic spline (RCS) outcomes suggested that the associations are approximately linear. Conclusions Both the FMI and the FFMI significantly correlated with the danger of developing diabetes and prediabetes, and the correlations are approximately linear.

In this paper, we investigate a class of hierarchical variational inequalities (HVIPs, i.e., strongly monotone variational inequality problems defined on the solution set of multiple-set split common fixed-point problems) with quasi-pseudocontractive mappings in real Hilbert spaces, with special cases being able to be found in many important engineering practical applications, such as image recognizing, signal processing, and machine learning. In order to solve HVIPs of potential application value, inspired by the primal-dual algorithm, we propose a novel accelerated cyclic iterative algorithm that combines the inertial method with a correction term and a self-adaptive step-size technique. Our approach eliminates the need for prior knowledge of the bounded linear operator norm. Under appropriate assumptions, we establish strong convergence of the algorithm. Finally, we apply our novel iterative approximation to solve multiple-set split feasibility problems and verify the effectiveness of the proposed iterative algorithm through numerical results.

On account of the enormous role of various government policies, it is very important and valuable to find remarkable independent variables from many practical factors of influencing American economy via choosing suitable methods and effective "optimal" models or equations. Based on the American economic data in practice, in order to creatively analyze and predict American economy under two different government policies, we analyze the relationship between each factor and the economy and obtain some greater impact factors to American gross domestic product (in short, GDP) by using a class of stepwise regression, and then we give optimal analysis and predict the influence to American GDP via employing support vector machine models. Further, we establish data comparison to provide beneficial reference for choosing from two different government policies. Finally, we propose some work for future research.

Abstract Background This retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the association between red blood cell distribution width-to-albumin ratio (RAR) and in-hospital mortality in patients with sepsis and atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods Data were obtained from the Medical Information Mart for the Intensive Care Database IV database version 1.0. Multivariate Cox regression models, curve-fitting, and Kaplan–Meier analyses were performed to determine the correlation between RAR and in-hospital mortality in patients with sepsis and AF. Results This study included 3042 patients with sepsis and AF. Confounding variables were adjusted for in the Multivariable Cox regression analysis models. RAR was independently associated with in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio 1.06; 95% confidence interval 1.03–1.08; p

AIM: To explore the intrinsic brain activity variations in retinal vein occlusion (RVO) subjects by using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) technique. METHODS: Twenty-one subjects with RVO and twenty-one healthy controls (HCs) were enlisted and underwent the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) examination. The spontaneous cerebrum activity variations were inspected using the DC technology. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was implemented to distinguish the DC values of RVOs from HCs. The relationships between DC signal of definite regions of interest and the clinical characteristics in RVO group were evaluated by Pearson's correlation analysis. RESULTS: RVOs showed notably higher DC signals in right superior parietal lobule, middle frontal gyrus and left precuneus, but decreased DC signals in left middle temporal gyrus and bilateral anterior cingulated (BAC) when comparing with HCs. The mean DC value of RVOs in the BAC were negatively correlated with the anxiety and depression scale. CONCLUSION: RVO is associated aberrant intrinsic brain activity patterns in several brain areas including pain-related as well as visual-related regions, which might assist to reveal the latent neural mechanisms.

It is very meaningful and challenging to efficiently seek common solutions to operator systems (CSOSs), which are widespread in pure and applied mathematics, as well as some closely related optimization problems. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel class of multistep implicit iterative algorithms (MSIIAs) for solving general CSOSs. By using Xu’s lemma and Maingé’s fundamental and important results, we first obtain strong convergence theorems for both one-step and multistep implicit iterative schemes for CSOSs, involving asymptotically demicontractive operators. Finally, for the applications and profits of the main results presented in this paper, we give two numerical examples and present an iterative approximation to solve the general common solution to the variational inequalities and operator equations.

Background: Obesity and overweight, as determined by the body mass index (BMI), are harmful to metabolic health. However, the BMI can not reflect body composition or fat distribution. The fat-free mass index (FFMI) and the fat mass index (FMI) can provide more information on body composition. The aim of the observational research was to determine whether the FMI and the FFMI are significantly associated with the risk of developing diabetes and prediabetes. Methods: The investigators included data for 10,085 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011–2018) participants aged over 20 years who underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The FFMI and the FMI were determined based on total fat mass and lean mass measured by DXA. Diabetes and prediabetes status were determined by medical history and laboratory examination. Logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the correlations between the FMI/FFMI and the risk of developing diabetes/prediabetes. Restricted cubic spline analysis was used to explore underlying nonlinear associations. Results: In the present study, 1,135 patients were diagnosed with diabetes, 3,258 had prediabetes, and 5,692 were classified as control participants. The FFMI (odds ratio (OR) = 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04–1.16) and the FMI (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04–1.12) were independently related to an increased risk of developing diabetes. Moreover, the FFMI (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.02–1.16) and the FMI (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.02–1.13) also independently correlated with a rising risk of developing prediabetes. The restricted cubic spline (RCS) outcomes suggested that the associations are approximately linear. Conclusions: Both the FMI and the FFMI significantly correlated with the danger of developing diabetes and prediabetes, and the correlations are approximately linear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce and study an implicit coupled system of fuzzy fractional delay differential equations involving fuzzy initial values and fuzzy source functions of triangular type. We assume that these initial values and source functions are triangular fuzzy functions and define the solution of the implicit coupled system as a triangular fuzzy function matrix consisting of real functional matrices. The method of triangular fuzzy function, fractional steps and fuzzy terms separation are used to solve the implicit coupled systems. Further, we prove existence and uniqueness of solution for the considered systems, and also construct a solution algorithm. Finally, an example is given to illustrate our main results and some further work are presented.

AIM: To investigate the ocular surface changes of diffuse diabetic macular edema(DDME)treated by intravitreal injection of Conbercept. METHODS: Twenty patients(20 eyes, right eyes)diagnosed as DDME and requiring vitreous injection of conbercept in the Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from January 2019 to June 2019, were selected as experiment group. Experiment goup was treated with three vitreous injections of Conbercept. The left eyes of the patients without macular edema were treated as control group without any treatment. Before operation and on the first day after operation, we used corrected visual acuity, superficial punctate epithelial erosion(SPEE), lacrimal river height, intraocular pressure, symptom and sign scores, Schirmer I test(S I t)and corneal fluorescein staining(CSF)to estimate eyes.RESULTS: Before treatment, there was no difference in intraocular pressure, the height of lacrimal river, OSDI score, S I t, CSF score between the two groups(P>0.05), and there was no superficial punctate epithelial erosion in both groups, but the corrected visual acuity of the control group was significantly better than that of the experimental group(0.50±0.20 vs 1.65±0.35, P0.05). Compared with before treatment, the corrected visual acuity of the experimental group was significantly improved, the lacrimal river height and S I t were significantly decreased, OSDI and CSF scores were significantly increased(P0.05); the observation indexes of the control group had no significant changes(P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Intravitreal injection of conbercept in the treatment of diffuse diabetic macular edema can damage the ocular surface.

Abstract Motivated and inspired by the growing contribution with respect to iterative approximations from some researchers in the literature, we design and investigate two types of brand-new semi-implicit viscosity iterative approximation methods for finding the fixed points of nonexpansive operators associated with contraction operators in complete CAT ( 0 ) ${\operatorname{CAT}(0)}$ spaces and for solving related variational inequality problems. Under some suitable assumptions, strong convergence theorems of the sequences generated by the approximation iterative methods are devised, and a numerical example and some applications to related variational inequality problems are included to verify the effectiveness and practical utility of the convergence theorems. Our main results presented in this paper do not only improve, extend and refine some corresponding consequences in the literature, but also show that the additional variational inequalities, general variational inequality systems and equilibrium problems can be solved via approximation of the iterative sequences. Finally, we provide an open question for future research.

Introduction Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is still a great challenge to global public health. As conventional diagnostic methods for TBM are unsatisfactory, interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) have been introduced for TBM diagnosis tentatively. However, the role of IGRAs for diagnosing TBM remains unclear. Thus, we systematically evaluated the diagnostic performance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood (PB) IGRAs in TBM to fill this blank. Material and methods Relevant studies were systematically searched in both foreign and Chinese databases up to March 2018. Studies in which TBM diagnosis was based on microbiological or clinical criteria were included. The quality of the included studies was assessed through the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool. Main outcome measures, including sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), were pooled statistically using random effects models. The potential heterogeneity was explored by threshold effect analysis, subgroup analyses and meta-regression. Funnel plots and Egger’s test were used to test the potential publication bias. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata and Meta-DiSc software. Results Twenty-six out of 656 publications were eligible for meta-analysis, including 1892 participants in total. The pooled estimates of PB IGRAs for TBM diagnosis are as follows: sensitivity: 0.81 (95% CI: 0.78–0.84); specificity: 0.76 (95% CI: 0.73–0.78); PLR: 4.23 (95% CI: 2.95–6.07); NLR: 0.24 (95% CI: 0.19–0.32) and DOR: 21.06 (11.91-37.24). The corresponding estimates for CSF IGRAs were obtained: sensitivity: 0.81 (95% CI: 0.76–0.85); specificity: 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86–0.92); PLR: 7.87 (95% CI: 4.98–12.46); NLR: 0.19 (95% CI: 0.13–0.29); and DOR: 47.74 (25.02–91.12). Conclusions The diagnostic performance of IGRAs is suboptimal. In terms of cost, turn-around time and accessibility, these assays are unsuitable for use as biomarkers for TBM diagnosis.

"AIM: To use the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method to explore the underlying functional network brain-activity in patients with ophthalmectomy. METHODS: A total of 32 ophthalmic surgery patients (10 women and 22 men), and 32 healthy subjects (10 women and 22 men) highly matched in gender, age, and the same operation method. Everyone experienced a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. The spontaneous brain activity could be assessed by DC. Correlation analysis was used to explore the relationships between the average DC signal values and behavior performance in different regions. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was utilized to differentiate between ophthalmectomy patients and healthy controls (HCs). RESULTS: Compared with HCs, ophthalmectomy patients had greatly reduced DC values in left lingual gyrus, bilateral lingual lobe, left cingulate gyrus, and increased DC values of left cerebellum posterior lobe, left middle frontal gyrus1, right supramarginal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus2, right middle frontal gyrus. However, we did not find that there was a correlation between the average DC values from various brain regions and clinical manifestations. CONCLUSION: Dysfunction may be caused by ophthalmectomy in lots of cerebral areas, which may show the potential pathological mechanism of ophthalmectomy and it is beneficial to clinical diagnosis."

Abstract Lung cancer is prone to metastasis to various organs. Although intraocular metastasis (IOM) occurs at a later stage than metastasis to other organs, it often adversely affects the quality of life and suggests a poor prognosis. In this study, we selected 1608 patients with lung cancer who had metastasis to at least one site and explored clinical differences between those with IOM and non‐IOM (NIOM). An independent t test and chi‐squared test were used to analyze the clinical features of the patients. The statistically significant parameters were analyzed by binary logistic regression to determine the risk factors for IOM. A receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to assess their diagnostic value in IOM. The results showed that no significant differences were noted in age, gender, and pathological type between the IOM and NIOM groups. However, the IOM group had higher levels of alpha‐fetoprotein, carcinoembryonic antigen, cancer antigen (CA)‐125, CA‐153, cytokeratin fragment 19 (CYFRA 21‐1), and total prostate‐specific antigen, compared with the NIOM group. Binary logistic regression indicated that CA‐153 and CYFRA 21‐1 were risk factors for IOM in patients with MLC (P

AIM: To explore the application effect of “diversified two-stage” teaching mode in the cultivation of master students in ophthalmology.METHODS: A total of thirty-two master students of ophthalmology from 2017 to 2019 were randomly divided into 2 groups, 16 in each group. The study group used the “diversified two-stage” teaching mode; the control group used the traditional teaching mode. The teaching content of the same group of graduate students is the same, the teaching teachers are the same, the teaching period was 33mo of clinical practice, the research time is from 2014 to 2019, the differences between the two groups were compared in the clinical professional assessment, scientific research ability assessment, comprehensive assessment, student satisfaction and dream anxiety self-rating scores with the same examination content and the uniform scoring standard. RESULTS: The average score of student satisfaction in the study group is(101.38±6.29), the comprehensive assessment is 84.22±4.58, and the dream anxiety score is 17.31±5.20. The average score of satisfaction in the control group is 59.13±9.61, the comprehensive assessment is 75.72±5.14, and the dream anxiety score is 25.75±3.32. The scores of clinical professional assessment, scientific research ability assessment and comprehensive assessment in the study group were higher than the control group, while the dream anxiety score was lower than the control group(both Pr=-0.746, -0.618, both PCONCLUSION: The “diversified two-stage” teaching mode improves the comprehensive quality of master students' theoretical knowledge, scientific research innovation, physical and mental health. It is the best teaching mode for the master students in ophthalmology.

AIM:To explore the effect of amniotic lacrimal stent graft on castrated male rabbits of dry eye. METHODS: Thirty-six adult male rabbits were divided into two groups. Group A was treated with false castration, group B was pseudo-implantation group, and group C was implanted with lacrimal canal. Fluorescein(FL)staining and scoring and SⅠt examination, and confocal microscopy were performed at 2, 4, 6wk after implantation.RESULTS: The cornea of group A was smooth and clear, and the FL staining was not obvious. In group B, the cornea was rough, and the corneal epithelium was spotted with stained spots. The corneal surface of group C was smoother and more transparent than that of sham operation group and the punctate staining was not obviously. The FL staining scores and SⅠt examination were significant(PCONCLUSION: The amniotic lacrimal duct stent can significantly improve the symptoms and signs of castrated castrated male rabbit dry eye syndrome, and has a therapeutic effect.

AIM: Optical coherence tomography angiography was used to explore the effect of erlotinib on the thickness of corneal epithelium and cornea in mice. METHODS: Totally 20 mice were randomly divided into experimental group and PBS group. Erlotinib eye drops was prepared. Erlotinib eye drops and PBS were applied to the two groups of mice at 8, 12, 16 and 20 o'clock each day. OCTA was used to measure the 17 regions of the epithelium and corneal thickness at 1wk, 2wk and 3wk before and after the eye droppings.RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the thickness of corneal epithelium and cornea between the experimental group and PBS group(all P>0.05). Two weeks after eye dropping, the areas of M, T5, IT5, I5, IN5, N5, T6, IT6, IN6 and N6 in the epithelium and corneal of experimental group were significantly thicker than those of PBS group(all PPPPCONCLUSION: Using OCTA, it can be found that ellotini has the effect of thickening corneal epithelium and cornea, and the effect is more obvious with the increase of application times.

Abstract It is well known that the concept (generalized) asymptotically nonexpansive is closely related to the theory of fixed points in Banach spaces, and the implicit midpoint rule is one of the powerful numerical methods for solving differential equations. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a class of new general modified viscosity implicit rules of generalized asymptotically nonexpansive mappings in complete CAT(0) $\operatorname{CAT}(0)$ spaces, and to prove some strong convergence theorems of the procedure generated by the new general modified viscosity implicit rules under some suitable conditions. The results presented in this paper improve and extend varieties of results in the recent literature.

AIM: To study the changes of the resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) between acute eye pain (EP) subjects and healthy controls (HCs) in the two hemispheres by using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) method. METHODS: Totally 20 patients with EP and 20 HCs were enrolled, sex, age, and education were matched, and all subjects were examined by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans at resting-state. The changes of rsFC between the hemispheres were evaluated by the VMHC method according to Gaussian random field (GRF) theory. In order to identify the VMHC, as biomarkers for distinguishing EP and from HC, the receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) had been analyzed. The relationships were evaluated with Pearson correlation analysis between the mean VMHC signal values and clinical features in these patients. RESULTS: By comparing with health subjects, the significant decreased VMHC values was observed in lingual/calcarine (Brodmann area, BA 30), precentral/postcentral gyrus (PreCG/PosCG; BA 4) and medial frontal gyrus (MFG; BA 8) (false discovery rate corrected

As is known to all, Lipschitz condition, which is very important to guarantee existence and uniqueness of solution for differential equations, is not frequently satisfied in real-world problems. In this paper, without the Lipschitz condition, we intend to explore a kind of novel coupled systems of fuzzy Caputo Generalized Hukuhara type (in short, gH-type) fractional partial differential equations. First and foremost, based on a series of notions of relative compactness in fuzzy number spaces, and using Schauder fixed point theorem in Banach semilinear spaces, it is naturally to prove existence of two classes of gH-weak solutions for the coupled systems of fuzzy fractional partial differential equations. We then give an example to illustrate our main conclusions vividly and intuitively. As applications, combining with the relevant definitions of fuzzy projection operators, and under some suitable conditions, existence results of two categories of gH-weak solutions for a class of fire-new fuzzy fractional partial differential coupled projection neural network systems are also proposed, which are different from those already published work. Finally, we present some work for future research.

Abstract Objective Middle‐age patients with retinal detachment (RD) exhibit a loss of visual information, and previous studies of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have demonstrated abnormal spontaneous activity in the RD brain. Therefore, this study assessed changes in local functional connectivity density (lFCD) and long‐range functional connectivity density (longFCD) in middle‐age RD patients during resting‐state FC. Methods In total, 32 middle‐age patients with RD (18 men and 14 women), and 32 age‐, sex‐, and education‐matched normal controls (NCs) (18 men and 14 women) were recruited and underwent functional magnetic resonance examination in the resting state. Two‐sample t test was performed to compare lFCD and longFCD between groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to distinguish middle‐age RD patients from NCs. Results Compared with NCs, middle‐age RD patients demonstrated increased lFCD values in the right inferior temporal gyrus, and increased longFCD values in the bilateral inferior frontal gyri, left superior and middle frontal gyrus, bilateral inferior temporal gyri, and left cerebellum posterior lobe. Middle‐age RD patient exhibited decreased lFCD values in the left cuneus, right lingual gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus. They also had lower longFCD values in the left lingual gyrus and left inferior occipital gyrus. ROC curve analysis showed excellent accuracy of the specific areas under the curve. Conclusion Our results reveal that middle‐age RD patients exhibited variations of binarized lFCD and longFCD in specific brain areas, which provides insight into the pathological mechanism of RD patients with acute visual loss.

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study is to explore the underlying functional network brain activity changes of patients in middle‐aged with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and the relationships with clinical features such as depression scale and visual functioning using voxel‐wise degree centrality (DC) method. Methods We included 16 patients with RP (11 men, 5 women) and 16 healthy controls (HCs; 11 men, 5 women). Participants were matched in terms of age, weight, gender and handedness (age and weight between the two groups were compared using independent sample t‐tests, gender and handedness were compared using chi‐square test). We use the voxel‐wise DC method to assess spontaneous brain activity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to distinguish between RP patients and HCs. Correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between mean DC values in various brain regions and clinical features (such as depression scale and visual functioning) in RP patients. Results Compared with HCs, the DC values of patients with RP were reduced in the right medial frontal gyrus, bilateral cuneus, bilateral precuneus, and bilateral superior frontal gyrus, and increased in the right cerebellum posterior lobe, left inferior temporal gyrus, and right fusiform gyrus. The mean DC values in the bilateral cuneus negatively correlated with the depression scale, and those in the bilateral precuneus positively correlated with the Visual Functioning Questionnaire‐25. Conclusions Middle‐aged patients with RP exhibit abnormal brain network activity in various brain regions, and this may underlie the pathological mechanism of RP.

Background: The outcomes of patients with postmenopausal breast cancer(PBC) can be improved through the early detection of intraocular metastases(IOMs). In this study, we investigated patients with PBC, and compared those with IOMs with those with non-intraocular metastases(NIOMs) in terms of blood lipid levels, and then differentiated the risk factors associated with IOMs. Methods: Student’s t-test and a chi-square test were used to discriminate between the IOMs and NIOMs groups. After establishing a Poisson regression model to analyze risk factors, we plotted receiver operating characteristic curves(ROC) to assess the quality of risk factors predicting IOMs. Results: The incidence of IOMs in PBC was 1.16%. There was no significant difference in terms of histopathology between the 2 groups. The levels of total cholesterol (TC), apolipoprotein A1(APOA1) and low-density lipoprotein(LDL) in IOMs were significantly lower than in NIOMs groups. Poisson regression suggested that low levels of APOA1 and LDL were risk factors for IOMs (P = 0.002 and P < 0.001, respectively). ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the cut-off values of APOA1 and LDL were 1.025 g/L and 2.415 mmol/L. The highest prediction accuracy for IOMs involved the combination of APOA1 and LDL (AUC = 0.881, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our research demonstrates that low levels of APOA1 and LDL efficiently predict IOMs in PBC as risk factors, and the combination of APOA1 and LDL was more predictive than single factors.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a class of initial value problems of fuzzy fractional coupled partial differential equations with Caputo gH-type derivatives. Firstly, using Banach fixed point theorem and the mathematical inductive method, we prove the existence and uniqueness of two kinds of gH-weak solutions of the coupled system for fuzzy fractional partial differential equations under Lipschitz conditions. Then we give an example to illustrate the correctness of the existence and uniqueness results. Furthermore, because of the coupling in the initial value problems, we develop Gronwall inequality of the vector form, and creatively discuss continuous dependence of the solutions of the coupled system for fuzzy fractional partial differential equations on the initial values and ε-approximate solution of the coupled system. Finally, we propose some work for future research.

Abstract Background In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the interaction of CXCL12 and CXC receptor 4 (CXCR4) plays a critical role in lung fibrosis. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) overexpression underlies the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Our previous report showed that the Rac1-dependent extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and activator protein (AP)-1 pathways are involved in CXCL12-generated CTGF expression in human lung fibroblasts (WI-38). In present study, we additionally inspected the involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1)/JNK-dependent SMAD3 in CXCL12-triggered CTGF expression in WI-38 cells. Methods WI-38 cells were stimulated with CXCL12 in the absence or presence of specific inhibitors or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). CTGF expression and signaling transduction molecules were assessed by Western blot, luciferase activity assay, or ChIP assay. Results CXCL-12-induced CTGF expression was attenuated by SIS3 (a SMAD3 inhibitor) and SMAD3 siRNA, but not by SB431542 (an activin receptor-like kinase 5, ALK5, inhibitor). CXCL12-stimulated CTGF expression was also attenuated by MEKK1 siRNA. Treatment of cells with CXCL12 caused an increase in SMAD3 phosphorylation at Ser208, translocation to nuclei, SMAD3-luciferase activity, and recruitment of SMAD3 to the CTGF promoter. Stimulation of cells with CXCL12 resulted in increase in JNK phosphorylation at Thr183/Tyr185 and MEKK1 phosphorylation at Thr261. Moreover, CXCL12-mediated SMAD3 phosphorylation or SMAD3-luciferase activity was inhibited by MEKK1 siRNA or SP600125. Finally, CXCL12-mediated JNK phosphorylation was attenuated by MEKK1 siRNA. Conclusion In conclusion, results of this study suggest that CXCL12 activates the MEKK1/JNK signaling pathway, which in turn initiates SMAD3 phosphorylation, its translocation to nuclei, and recruitment of SMAD3 to the CTGF promoter, which ultimately induces CTGF expression in human lung fibroblasts.

Abstract In this paper, we introduce and study a class of new Picard-Mann iterative methods with mixed errors for common fixed points of two different nonexpansive and contraction operators. We also give convergence and stability analysis of the new Picard-Mann iterative approximation and propose numerical examples to show that the new Picard-Mann iteration converges more effectively than the Picard iterative process, Mann iterative process, Picard-Mann iterative process due to Khan and other related iterative processes. Furthermore, as an application, we explore iterative approximation of solutions for an elliptic boundary value problem in Hilbert spaces by using the new Picard-Mann iterative methods with mixed errors for contraction operators.

Abstract Background We recently reported that hesperetin-5,7,3’-O-triacetate (HTA) dually inhibited phosphodiesterase (PDE)3/4 with a therapeutic ratio of 20.8. The application and development of PDE4 inhibitors for treating asthma or COPD are limited by their side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and gastric hypersecretion. PDE4 inhibitors were reported to reverse xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesia in rats and triggered vomiting in ferrets. Thus the reversing effect of HTA on xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesia in mice was studied to assess emetic effect of HTA. The aim of this study was to prove the therapeutic effect of HTA without vomiting effect at an effective dose for treating COPD. Methods Ten female BALB/c mice in each group were sensitized by ovalbumin (OVA) on days 0 and 14. On day 21, these mice were emphasized the sensitization by Freund’s complete adjuvant. Mice were challenged by 1% OVA nebulization on days 28, 29, and 30. Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) was assessed on day 32 in each group, using the FlexiVent system to determine airway resistance (RL) and lung dynamic compliance (Cdyn) in anesthetized ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized and challenged mice. Each group was orally administered HTA (10 ~ 100 μmol/kg), roflumilast (1 and 5 mg/kg) or vehicles (controls) 2 h before and 6 and 24 h after OVA provocation. For comparison, sham-treated mice were challenged with saline instead of 1% OVA. The ability to reverse xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesia by HTA or roflumilast for 3 h was determined in normal mice. We used roflumilast, a selective PDE4 inhibitor and bronchodilator for severe COPD approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, as a reference drug. Results In the results, HTA (100 μmol/kg, p.o.) or roflumilast (5 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly suppressed all RL values of MCh at 0.78 ~ 25 mg/mL and enhanced Cdyn values of MCh at 3.125 ~ 25 mg/mL compared to OVA-sensitized and -challenged control mice. Orally administered 1, 3 or 10 mg/kg roflumilast, but not 30 or 100 μmol/kg HTA, significantly reversed xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesia. Conclusions In contrast to roflumilast, HTA may ameliorate COPD but induce few side effects of nausea, vomiting and gastric hypersecretion at an effective dose for treating COPD, because HTA did not reverse xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesia in mice.

Bladder cancer is a common type of tumor among elderly male population; it causes intraocular metastasis (IOM). The study investigated the differences between elderly male bladder cancer patients with and without IOM, and identified risk factors for IOM. In this study, 749 elderly male patients (aged ≥50 years) with bladder cancer were included from November 2003 to December 2016. Differences between the IOM and non-IOM (NIOM) groups were evaluated by chi-square test and Student’s t -test. The binary logistic regression analysis calculates the risk factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the diagnostic value of IOM in elderly male patients with bladder cancer. The incidence of IOM in patients with bladder cancer was 1.7%. No significant differences were detected in age and histopathology between the IOM and NIOM groups. According to the study, the IOM group had higher ALP and Cyfra21-1. Binary logistic regression indicated that ALP and Cyfra21-1 were risk factors for IOM in elderly male bladder cancer patients ( p < .05). ROC curve analysis revealed area under the curve values for ALP and Cyfra21-1 of 0.913 and 0.814, using cutoff values of 9.65 and 83.5 U/L, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity values for ALP were 61.5% and 95.8%, respectively, while those for Cyfra21-1 were 84.6% and 73.3%. The investigation indicates that ALP and Cyfra21-1 are risk factors for IOM in elderly male patients with bladder cancer and ALP is more reliable at distinguishing IOM from NIOM in elderly male patients with bladder cancer.

Abstract Objective To study the changes in gray matter volume (GMV) in patients with advanced monocular blindness (MB) using voxel‐based morphometry (VBM). Methods Thirty‐one patients with advanced MB (25 males and six females) and 31 normal controls (25 males and six females) were enrolled. The t test was applied to determine the differences in GMV, white matter volume (WMV), and volume of cerebrospinal fluid in different regions of the brain. The local characteristics of spontaneous concentrations of brain tissue were evaluated by the VBM method. The effects of blindness duration on differences in the GMV were evaluated by correlation and regression analyses. Results Compared with the control group, the GMV was decreased in the upper right margin, bilateral insular cortex, right cingulate gyrus, left occipital gyrus, and right suboccipital lobe, and negatively correlated with blindness duration in the upper right posterior margin, bilateral insular cortex, and right cingulate cortex. Conclusions We found that patients with MB showed abnormal WMV and GMV, as evidenced by local changes in the brain. In addition, reduced GMV in specific parts of the brain was associated with the duration of blindness, which may indicate neuropathological mechanisms of visual loss in patients with MB.

ObjectiveTo investigate the potential regional homogeneity (ReHo) brain activity changes in patients with corneal ulcer (CU) and their possible relationship with clinical symptoms.Materials and MethodsForty patients with CU (26 men and 14 women), and 40 healthy controls (HCs) (26 men and 14 women) closely matched in age, sex, and weight underwent resting-state functional MRI scans, respectively. The ReHo method was applied to evaluate synchronous neural activity changes. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to show high test-retest stability and high degree of sensitivity and specificity. We utilized the correlation analysis to calculate the relationship between the average ReHo signal values in different brain areas and the clinical symptoms in CU patients.ResultsCompared with the HCs, CU patients had significantly increased ReHo values in right cerebellum posterior lobe, left cerebellum posterior lobe, left inferior temporal gyrus, right lingual gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, left angular gyrus, left cingulate gyrus, right angular gyrus and bilateral superior frontal gyrus, and decreased ReHo values in right anterior cingulate and left precentral gyrus. ROC curve analysis of each brain regions showed the accuracy of AUC was perfect except the right cerebellum posterior lobe. Nevertheless, there was no clear evidence of prominent relevance between the average ReHo values in brain areas and the clinical symptoms.ConclusionCorneal ulcer caused dysfunctional adaption in different brain areas, which including relatively increased values and decreased values. This finding may help us take a further step in exploring the underlying pathologic mechanisms of CU.

A novel composite left-and-right-composite-handed leaky wave antenna is proposed based on Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons slow-wave transmission line at microwave band in this paper. Wide-angle frequency scanning of the antenna is achieved by combining the slow-wave dispersion characteristics of Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons and the left-and-right-composite-handed characteristics of the complementary split ring resonator structure. The simulated and experimental results show that, with the increase of frequency, the radiation mode of the antenna gradually changed from slow-wave mode to fast-wave radiation mode, and the pattern changed continuously. The scanning region of the main beams proposed covers 110° in φ=0° plane when the frequency increases from 8GHz to 15GHz, and the gain of the antenna kept between 7dBi and 10.4dBi.

Background. Exophthalmos occurs in patients with primary hyperthyroidism. There were few studies about the changes of brain functional networks of patients with exophthalmos of primary hyperthyroidism (EOPH). However, differences in spontaneous brain activity in patients with EOPH remain unclear. Objective. This study explored alterations in the brain functional networks of patients with EOPH using a voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method. Methods. A total of 20 patients with EOPH (8 men and 12 women) were enrolled. In addition, 20 patients with primary hyperthyroidism without exophthalmos, matched in age, sex, and education status, were enrolled as a control group. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess the anxiety and depression status of participants. All participants were examined using resting-state functional MRI. Changes in spontaneous brain activity were investigated using the DC method. To distinguish between the DC values of the patients with EOPH and those of the control group, we analyzed the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The interrelationships between the DC values and clinical variables in the patients with EOPH were evaluated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results. Patients with EOPH exhibited notably lower DC values in the cerebellum posterior lobe than the control group. In addition, there were negative correlations between the anxiety scores (AS) and the depression scores (DS) and DC values of the cerebellum posterior lobe. The ROC curve analysis of the cerebellum posterior lobe demonstrated that the area under the curve method had a high diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions. Our study was the first, to our knowledge, to explore changes in the brains of patients with EOPH using the DC method. The DC value was significantly different in the cerebellum posterior lobe in patients with EOPH, indicating that the cerebellum posterior lobe is associated with EOPH.

In order to solve (partial) differential equations, implicit midpoint rules are often employed as a powerful numerical method. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and study a class of new Picard-Mann iteration processes with mixed errors for the implicit midpoint rules, which is different from existing methods in the literature, and to analyze the convergence and stability of the proposed method. Further, some numerical examples and applications to optimal control problems with elliptic boundary value constraints are considered via the new Picard-Mann iterative approximations, which shows that the new Picard-Mann iteration process with mixed errors for the implicit midpoint rule of nonexpansive mappings is brand new and more effective than other related iterative processes.

A novel quarter-mode substrate integrated waveguide miniaturized cavity-backed antenna loading Minkowski fractal gap is presented in this paper. Firstly, the resonant frequency of the rectangular substrate integrated waveguide resonator is reduced by etching the fractal gap in the resonator to achieve miniaturization. In addition, because of the symmetry of electric field distribution in second and third order resonant modes, the cavity can be segmented into a quarter-mode and the other order resonance modes with asymmetric electric field distribution can be suppressed according to the cavity model theory. Hence, the cavity size is further reduced. The dimension of designed antenna is 0.26λ0×0.26λ0 (λ0 is the wavelength in free space; in this paper, the corresponding wavelength is 3.6 GHz). Moreover, the orthogonal polarization of the proposed antenna in two frequency bands is achieved because the electric field is orthogonal in second and third order resonant modes. This dual-frequency orthogonal polarization characteristic enables antenna to communicate in two working bands and has good channel isolation. The simulated and measured results are consistent. The antenna gain is 4.67dBi and 3.4dBi, respectively, at 3.7GHz and 4.6GHz.