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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a type of interstitial lung disease (ILD) characterized by the proliferation of fibroblasts and aberrant accumulation of extracellular matrix. These changes are accompanied by structural destruction of the lung tissue and the progressive decline of pulmonary function. In the past few decades, researchers have investigated the pathogenesis of IPF and sought a therapeutic approach for its treatment. Some studies have shown that the occurrence of IPF is related to pulmonary inflammatory injury; however, its specific etiology and pathogenesis remain unknown, and no effective treatment, with the exception of lung transplantation, has been identified yet. Several basic science and clinical studies in recent years have shown that statins, the traditional lipid-lowering drugs, exert significant antifibrotic effects, which can delay the progression of IPF and impairment of pulmonary function. This article is aimed at summarizing the current understanding of the pathogenesis of IPF, the progress of research on the use of statins in IPF models and clinical trials, and its main molecular targets.

Objectives: To standardize the endoscopic deep medial orbital decompression surgery for better relief of optic nerve compression in dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON). Methods: A total of 128 eyes from patients received the standardized endoscopic deep medial orbital decompression surgery were recruited in this study. The efficacy of the procedure was assessed at a one-month follow-up by the best-corrected visual acuity (VA), visual field (VF), and visual evoked potential (VEP). Clinical data were collected to explore the factors that affected visual recovery. Oxygen saturation of retinal blood vessels, retinal thickness, and vessel density were measured to demonstrate the potential recovery mechanisms. Results: After surgery, the ratio of extraocular muscle volume in the orbital apex to orbital apex volume significantly decreased from 44.32 ± 22.31% to 36.82 ± 12.02% (P < 0.001). 96.87% of eyes’ final VA improved, average VA improved from 0.93 ± 0.73 to 0.50 ± 0.60 at 1 week (P < 0.001) and 0.40 ± 0.53 at 1 month (P < 0.001). Postoperatively VF and VEP also improved, the oxygen saturation of retinal arteries increased, and the retinal thickness was reduced. Preoperative VA, visual impairment duration, and clinical activity score evaluation were associated with visual recovery. Conclusions: In this study, we standardized the endoscopic deep medial orbital decompression, of which key point was to relieve pressure in the orbital apex and achieved satisfactory visual recovery in DON patients.

Purpose To evaluate the retinal vasculature pathophysiological changes of indirect traumatic optic neuropathy (ITON) patients after effective surgery. Methods Monocular ITON patients who underwent endoscopic trans-ethmosphenoid optic canal decompression (ETOCD) or conservative treatments in Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center from January 2017 to June 2020 were recruited. Visual acuity (VA), visual evoked potential (VEP), oxygen saturation of retinal blood vessels (SO2), and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) were measured. All patients were followed up at least 3 months after treatments. Results A total of 95 ITON patients were recruited, including 77 patients who underwent ETOCD and 18 patients who underwent conservative treatments. After treatments, more patients received ETOCD (59/77 = 76.6%) presented with improved VA compared with the patients with conservative treatments (6/18 = 33.3%). Compared with the pre-therapeutic measurements, VEP were significantly improved after surgery in ETOCD-treated patients (P P 2 and the differences between arteries and veins were improved in ETOCD-treated patients (P (P Conclusions Vision recovery after effective treatment of ITON patients was associated with the increased oxygen saturation of retinal vessels, better availability of oxygen in the retina, greater vessel density, and thicker retinas, which might further underlie the vasculature mechanism of vision recovery in ITON patients.

Purpose The aim of this study was to describe the genetic and clinical characteristics of Chinese patients with autosomal recessive bestrophinopathy (ARB). Methods This study presents a retrospective observational case series. Twenty-one ARB patients and 25 clinically healthy family members were recruited. The coding regions and adjacent intronic regions of BEST1 were analysed via Sanger sequencing. Clinical examinations, including ultrasound biomicroscopy, A-scan, optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) and visual electrophysiology, were reviewed. Results Six novel mutations (c.380C>T, p.T127M; c.397A>G, p.N133D; c.500A>G, p.E167G; c.817G>A, p.V273M; c.174_176del, p.Q58del; and c.950_955del, p.S318_L319) and 8 previously reported mutations were identified. The p.R255W mutation had the highest frequency in our cohort. Twenty patients had serous retinal detachment with multifocal subretinal vitelliform deposits in the posterior poles. One patient exhibited chorioretinal atrophy. FFA revealed peripheral vascular leakage in 10 patients, and ICGA revealed hyperfluorescent spots in 8 patients. Visual electrophysiology was abnormal in all patients. Fifteen patients with angle closure (AC) or angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) had shallower anterior chambers and shorter axial lengths than the patients with open angle, contributing to their risk of developing AC/ACG. One patient developed AC during the 7-year follow-up period. The misdiagnosis and missed rates were 35.3% and 58.8%, respectively. Conclusion The six novel mutations and high frequency of p.R255W suggest ethnical differences in the BEST1 mutation spectrum among Chinese patients. BEST1 gene screening and detailed clinical examinations help establishing a diagnosis of ARB. Clinical evaluations of the risk of developing AC/ACG are recommended for ARB patients.

Smoking is considered to be the main source of indoor pollution, and it has been identified as an important environmental factor contributing to asthma onset. We know that T helper 2 (Th2) response plays a crucial role in the process of asthma disease. We have investigated the reaction of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on Th polarization which is controlled by dendritic cells (DCs). Stimulated by CSE, immature DCs from murine bone marrow showed upregulated levels of TIM4. Cocultured with CD4+ T cells, stimulated DCs increased the ratio of IL-4+ versus IFN-γ+ of CD4+ T cells. This suggests a differentiation towards Th2 response. Moreover, antibodies against TIM4 reversed the upexpression of the IL-4+/IFN-γ+ ratio provoked by CSE, indicating that the Th2 polarization which was induced by CSE is via TIM4 mechanisms. CSE could activate mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways like ERK and p38. Upregulation of TIM4 expression by CSE stimulation was found to be inhibited by an ERK inhibitor but not p38 and JNK. In conclusion, DC-induced Th2 polarization is a hallmark of CSE allergy, and this aspect can be explained by CSE-induced TIM4 expression.

Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a genetic heterogeneous disease with high mortality and poor prognosis. Hyaluronidase 1 (HYAL1) was found to be upregulated in fibroblasts from IPF patients, and overexpression of HYAL1 could prevent human fetal lung fibroblast proliferation. However, the genetic correlation between the HYAL1 and IPF or connective tissue diseases related interstitial lung disease (CTD‐ILD) has not been determined. Methods A two‐stage study was conducted in Southern Han Chinese population. We sequenced the coding regions and flanking regulatory regions of HYAL1 in stage one (253 IPF cases and 125 controls). A statistically significant variant was further genotyped in stage two (162 IPF cases, 182 CTD‐ILD cases, and 225 controls). Results We identified a nonsynonymous polymorphism (rs117179004, T392M) significantly associated with increased IPF risk (dominant model: OR = 2.239, 95% CI = 1.212–4.137, p = 0.010 in stage one; OR = 2.383, 95% CI = 1.376–4.128, p = 0.002 in stage two). However, we did not observe this association in CTD‐ILD (OR = 1.401, 95% CI = 0.790–2.485, p = 0.248). Conclusion Our findings suggest that the nonsynonymous polymorphism (rs117179004, T392M) may confer susceptibility to IPF in Southern Han Chinese, but is not associated with susceptibility to CTD‐ILD., A nonsynonymous polymorphism (rs117179004, T392M) of hyaluronidase 1 (HYAL1) is associated with increased risk of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (p = 0.002 in allele‐model) but not connective tissue diseases related interstitial lung disease (CTD‐ILD) (p = 0.181 in allele‐model) in Southern Han Chinese.

This study examines the usefulness of both geometric and volumetric measurements of orbital soft tissues on CT scans to provide quantitative diagnostic guidance in image reading of thyroid eye disease (TED). Computed tomography (CT) images were obtained from 92 orbits and were classified as impaired motility (TED-IM) and normal motility (TED-NM). The TED-IM group was further divided into dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) and non-DON groups. There were 5 volumetric, 2 angular, and 3 ratio parameter measurements acquired from CT images to examine their feasibility in TED classification. We found that the mean volumes of extraocular muscle and retroorbital fat and their ratio to the orbital volume were significantly different between the two motility groups. The mean ratio of extraocular muscle volume in orbital apex and orbital apex volume (EMV-OA/OAV) was significantly larger in DON than non-DON patients (p < 0.05). The population distribution among TED-NM, non-DON, and DON groups significantly varied for different angles between the optic nerve and medial rectus and lateral rectus. In conclusion, geometric and volumetric measurements using CT scans help to quantitatively classify TED.

BACKGROUND: Although studies have identified hundreds of genetic variants associated with asthma risk, a large fraction of heritability remains unexplained, especially in Chinese individuals. METHODS: To identify genetic risk factors for asthma in a Han Chinese population, 211 asthma‐related genes were first selected based on database searches. The genes were then sequenced for subjects in a Discovery Cohort (284 asthma patients and 205 older healthy controls) using targeted next‐generation sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis and statistical association analyses were performed to reveal the associations between rare/common variants and asthma, respectively. The identified common risk variants underwent a validation analysis using a Replication Cohort (664 patients and 650 controls). RESULTS: First, we identified 18 potentially functional rare loss‐of‐function (LOF) variants in 21/284 (7.4%) of the asthma cases. Second, using burden tests, we found that the asthma group had nominally significant (p

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with immune dysregulation and cytokine storm. Exploring the immune-inflammatory characteristics of COVID-19 patients is essential to reveal pathogenesis and predict progression. In this study, COVID-19 patients showed decreased CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells but increased neutrophils in circulation, exhibiting upregulated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and neutrophil-to-CD8+ T cell ratio. IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-18, IL-12/IL-23p40, IL-10, Tim-3, IL-8, neutrophil extracellular trap–related proteinase 3, and S100A8/A9 were elevated, whereas IFN-γ and C-type lectin domain family 9 member A (clec9A) were decreased in COVID-19 patients compared with healthy controls. When compared with influenza patients, the expressions of TNF-α, IL-18, IL-12/IL-23p40, IL-8, S100A8/A9 and Tim-3 were significantly increased in critical COVID-19 patients, and carcinoembryonic Ag, IL-8, and S100A8/A9 could serve as clinically available hematologic indexes for identifying COVID-19 from influenza. Moreover, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, TNF-α, proteinase 3, and S100A8/A9 were increased in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of severe/critical patients compared with moderate patients, despite decreased CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells, and NK cells. Interestingly, bronchoalveolar IL-6, carcinoembryonic Ag, IL-8, S100A8/A9, and proteinase 3 were found to be predictive of COVID-19 severity and may serve as potential biomarkers for predicting COVID-19 progression and potential targets in therapeutic intervention of COVID-19.

Background: Retinal degenerative disorders (RDs) are the main cause of blindness without curable treatment. Our previous studies have demonstrated that human-induced pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into retinal organoids with all subtypes of retina, which provides huge promise for treating these diseases. Before these methods can be realized, RD animal models are required to evaluate the safety and efficacy of stem cell therapy and to develop the surgical tools and procedures for cell transplantation in patients. This study involved the development of a monkey model of RD with controllable lesion sites, which can be rapidly prepared for the study of preclinical stem cell therapy among other applications. Methods: Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in three doses was delivered into the monkey eye by subretinal injection (SI), and normal saline was applied as control. Structural and functional changes of the retinas were evaluated via multimodal imaging techniques and multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) before and after the treatment. Histological examination was performed to identify the target layer of the affected retina. The health status of monkeys was monitored during the experiment. Results: Well-defined lesions with various degrees of retinal degeneration were induced at the posterior pole of retina as early as 7 days after SNP SI. The damage of SNP was dose dependent. In general, 0.05 mM SNP caused mild structural changes in the retina, 0.1 mM SNP led to the loss of outer retinal layers, including the outer plexiform layer (OPL), outer nuclear layer (ONL), and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), while 0.2 mM SNP impacted the entire layer of the retina and choroid. MfERG showed reduced amplitude in the damaged region. The structural and functional damages were not recovered at 7-month follow-up. Conclusion: A rapidly induced lesion site-controllable retinal degeneration monkey model was established by the subretinal administration of SNP, of which the optimal dose is 0.1 mM. This monkey model mimics the histological changes of advanced RDs and provides a valuable platform for preclinical assessment of stem cell therapy for RDs.

Background: Retinal degenerative disorders (RDs) are the main cause of blindness without curable treatment. Our previous studies have demonstrated that human induced pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into retinal organoids with all subtypes of retina, which provides huge promises for treating these diseases. Before it can be turned into reality, RD animal models are required to evaluate the safety and efficacy of stem cell therapy, and to develop the surgical tools and procedures for cell transplantation in patients. This study is to develop a monkey model of RD with controllable of lesion sites which can be rapidly prepared, for the studies of preclinical stem cell therapy among other applications.Methods: Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in three doses was delivered into the monkey eye by subretinal injection (SI) and normal saline was applied as control. Structural and functional changes of the retinas were evaluated via multimodal imaging techniques and multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) before and after the treatment. Histological examination was performed to identify the target layer of the affected retina. The health status of monkeys was monitored during the experiment. Results: Well defined lesion with various degree of retinal degeneration was established at the posterior pole of retina as early as 7 days after SNP SI. The damage effect of SNP was dose-dependent. 0.05 mM SNP caused invisible structural changes in retina, similar to the control. 0.1 mM SNP led to the loss of outer retinal layer, including OPL, ONL and RPE, while 0.2 mM SNP impacted the entire layer of retina and choroid. MfERG showed reduced amplitude in the damaged region. The structural and functional damages were not recovered after 7-month follow-up. Conclusion: A simple, rapidly induced, lesion site-controllable, retinal degeneration model in monkey was established by the subretinal injection of 0.1 mM SNP. This monkey model closely mimics the histological changes of RDs, and provides a valuable platform for preclinical assessment of stem cell therapy.

Background:No specific antiviral drug has been proven effective for treatment of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Remdesivir (GS-5734), a nucleoside analogue prodrug, has inhibitory effects on pathogenic animal and human coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro, and inhibits Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2 replication in animal models. Methods:We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial at ten hospitals in Hubei, China. Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) admitted to hospital with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, with an interval from symptom onset to enrolment of 12 days or less, oxygen saturation of 94% or less on room air or a ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen of 300 mm Hg or less, and radiologically confirmed pneumonia. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to intravenous remdesivir (200 mg on day 1 followed by 100 mg on days 2–10 in single daily infusions) or the same volume of placebo infusions for 10 days. Patients were permitted concomitant use of lopinavir–ritonavir, interferons, and corticosteroids. The primary endpoint was time to clinical improvement up to day 28, defined as the time (in days) from randomisation to the point of a decline of two levels on a six-point ordinal scale of clinical status (from 1=discharged to 6=death) or discharged alive from hospital, whichever came first. Primary analysis was done in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population and safety analysis was done in all patients who started their assigned treatment. This trial is registered withClinicalTrials.gov,NCT04257656. Findings:Between Feb 6, 2020, and March 12, 2020, 237 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to a treatment group (158 to remdesivir and 79 to placebo); one patient in the placebo group who withdrew after randomisation was not included in the ITT population. Remdesivir use was not associated with a difference in time to clinical improvement (hazard ratio 1·23 [95% CI 0·87–1·75]). Although not statistically significant, patients receiving remdesivir had a numerically faster time to clinical improvement than those receiving placebo among patients with symptom duration of 10 days or less (hazard ratio 1·52 [0·95–2·43]). Adverse events were reported in 102 (66%) of 155 remdesivir recipients versus 50 (64%) of 78 placebo recipients. Remdesivir was stopped early because of adverse events in 18 (12%) patients versus four (5%) patients who stopped placebo early. Interpretation:In this study of adult patients admitted to hospital for severe COVID-19, remdesivir was not associated with statistically significant clinical benefits. However, the numerical reduction in time to clinical improvement in those treated earlier requires confirmation in larger studies.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a novel corinavirus (later named SARS-CoV-2 virus), was fistly reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China towards the end of 2019. Large-scale spread within China and internationally led the World Health Organization to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30th January 2020. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 virus infection include asymptomatic infection, mild upper respiratory symptoms, severe viral pneumonia with respiratory failure, and even death. There are no antivirals of proven clinical efficacy in coronavirus infections. Remdesivir (GS-5734), a nucleoside analogue, has inhibitory effects on animal and human highly pathogenic coronaviruses, including MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, in in vitro and in vivo experiments. It is also inhibitory against the COVID-19 virus in vitro. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of remdesivir in adult patients with severe COVID-19. Methods The protocol is prepared in accordance with the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) guidelines. This is a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial. Adults (≥ 18 years) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 virus infection, severe pneumonia signs or symptoms, and radiologically confirmed severe pneumonia are randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to intravenously administered remdesivir or placebo for 10 days. The primary endpoint is time to clinical improvement (censored at day 28), defined as the time (in days) from randomization of study treatment (remdesivir or placebo) until a decline of two categories on a six-category ordinal scale of clinical status (1 = discharged; 6 = death) or live discharge from hospital. One interim analysis for efficacy and futility will be conducted once half of the total number of events required has been observed. Discussion This is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial in COVID-19. Enrolment began in sites in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China on 6th February 2020. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04257656. Registered on 6 February 2020.

Background: A novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China towards the end of 2019 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 virus). Large scale spread within China and internationally led the World Health Organisation to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30th January 2020. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 virus infection include asymptomatic infection, mild upper respiratory symptoms, severe viral pneumonia with respiratory failure and even death. There are no antivirals of proven clinical efficacy in coronavirus infections. Remdesivir (GS-5734), a nucleoside analogue, has inhibitory effects on animal and human highly pathogenic coronaviruses, including highkly pathogenic MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, in in-vitro and in-vivo experiments. It is also inhibitory against COVID-19 virus in-vitro. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of remdesivir in adult patients with severe pneumonia caused by COVID-19 virus infection.Methods: The protocol is prepared in accordance with the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) guidelines. This is a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial. Adults (≥18 years) with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 virus infection, and severe pneumonia signs or symptoms, and radiologically confirmed severe pneumonia are randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to intravenous remdesivir or placebo for 10 days. The primary endpoint is time to clinical improvement (censored at Day 28), defined as the time (in days) from randomization of study treatment (remdesivir or placebo) until a decline of two categories on a six-category ordinal scale of clinical status (1 ꞊ discharged; 6 ꞊ death). One interim analysis for efficacy and futility will be conducted once half of the total number of events required had been observed.Discussion: This is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 2019-nCoV. Enrolment began in sites in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China on 6th February 2020.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a genetic heterogeneous disease with high mortality and poor prognosis. However, a large fraction of genetic cause remains unexplained, especially in sporadic IPF (∼80% IPF). By systemically reviewing related literature and potential pathogenic pathways, 92 potentially IPF-related genes were selected and sequenced in genomic DNAs from 253 sporadic IPF patients and 125 matched health controls using targeted massively parallel next-generation sequencing. The identified risk variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. We identified two pathogenic and 10 loss-of-function (LOF) candidate variants, accounting for 4.74% (12 out of 253) of all the IPF cases. In burden tests, rare missense variants in three genes (CSF3R, DSP, and LAMA3) were identified that have a statistically significant relationship with IPF. Four common SNPs (rs3737002, rs2296160, rs1800470, and rs35705950) were observed to be statistically associated with increased risk of IPF. In the cumulative risk model, high risk subjects had 3.47-fold (95%CI: 2.07-5.81, P = 2.34 × 10-6 ) risk of developing IPF compared with low risk subjects. We drafted a comprehensive map of genetic risks (including both rare and common candidate variants) in patients with IPF, which could provide insights to help in understanding mechanisms, providing genetic diagnosis, and predicting risk for IPF.

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Background To develop a deep neural network able to differentiate glaucoma from non-glaucoma visual fields based on visual filed (VF) test results, we collected VF tests from 3 different ophthalmic centers in mainland China. Methods Visual fields obtained by both Humphrey 30–2 and 24–2 tests were collected. Reliability criteria were established as fixation losses less than 2/13, false positive and false negative rates of less than 15%. Results We split a total of 4012 PD images from 1352 patients into two sets, 3712 for training and another 300 for validation. There is no significant difference between left to right ratio (P = 0.6211), while age (P = 0.0022), VFI (P = 0.0001), MD (P = 0.0039) and PSD (P = 0.0001) exhibited obvious statistical differences. On the validation set of 300 VFs, CNN achieves the accuracy of 0.876, while the specificity and sensitivity are 0.826 and 0.932, respectively. For ophthalmologists, the average accuracies are 0.607, 0.585 and 0.626 for resident ophthalmologists, attending ophthalmologists and glaucoma experts, respectively. AGIS and GSS2 achieved accuracy of 0.459 and 0.523 respectively. Three traditional machine learning algorithms, namely support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) were also implemented and evaluated in the experiments, which achieved accuracy of 0.670, 0.644, and 0.591 respectively. Conclusions Our algorithm based on CNN has achieved higher accuracy compared to human ophthalmologists and traditional rules (AGIS and GSS2) in differentiation of glaucoma and non-glaucoma VFs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12880-018-0273-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The published online version contains incorrect data in Table 2 caption. Argon should not be mentioned in the caption as this is not used in this paper.

Information of affliations of people who contributed to the study but are not in the author list. (DOCX 15 kb)

Milk fat globule epidermal growth factor 8 (MFG-E8) is an opsonin involved in the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), apoptotic cell clearance is defective. However, whether aberrant MFG-E8 expression is involved in this defect is unknown. In this study, we examined the expression of MFG-E8 in COPD patients. MFG-E8, interleukin (IL)-1β and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β levels were measured in the plasma of 96 COPD patients (93 males, 3 females; age range: 62.12±10.39) and 87 age-matched healthy controls (85 males, 2 females; age range: 64.81±10.11 years) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Compared with controls, COPD patients had a significantly lower plasma MFG-E8 levels (P

At present, weighing control system of concrete mixing station mainly uses the discharge valve opening control. And because of unequal drain holes, uneven materials particle sizes, the changing distance between materials and hopper, the material weighing error is large, the concrete mixing ratio error is also imprecise, and the concrete strength quality and curing time have also been great affected. This system uses the time error control principle. According to the material weight error of the last discharge valve open time, the next open time difference is calculated. The last material weight error is compensated. Many discharges effectively solve the error problems of said weighing system and improve measurement accuracy and the mix proportion of concrete. This control method has been successfully applied to the mixing station control system of PLC reconstruction to ensure the system stable operation and concrete curing time, improve weighing precision and concrete strength quality. It has been proven to improve the system running environment and achieve good economic benefits.

Neutral wire is one form of distribution lines for faults. Neutral wire will cause the neutral potential shift and increase the voltage, which may endanger electrical appliances and persons. The entire existing neutral wire automatic protection device are to protect the load side and there are not protective measures on the supply side. Has load protection side. The research of the protection system is that Bi-directional zero-phase method will be taken to obtain the voltage and current square wave after the emergence of neutral wire of the load side. Then each wave is sampled and the phase difference is calculated by microcomputer control system, which will be combined with the neutral current change detection to cut off the power of supply side and achieve the automatic protection. The system can well achieve automatic protection of neutral wire on the supply side.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common inflammatory diseases resulting from habitual smoking. Impaired clearance of apoptotic cell by airway macrophages contributes to lung inflammation. Milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8), as a link between apoptotic cells and phagocytes, facilitates clearance of apoptotic cells and attenuates inflammation. We sought to investigate altered expression and potential role of MFG-E8 in COPD. In this study, apoptosis was increased and the level of MFG-E8 was decreased while HMGB1 expression was increased in lung tissues of CS-exposed mice. Compared with CS-exposed WT mice, more apoptotic cells were accumulated in lung tissues of CS-exposed MFG-E8 deficiency mice. Exposure of a range of macrophages to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) resulted in decreased MFG-E8 expression. Administration of rmMFG-E8 ameliorated phagocytic ability of RAW264.7 cells and suppressed inflammatory response induced by CS-exposure. 10% CSE stimulation suppressed Rac1 membrane localization in RAW264.7 cells which was restored by administration of rmMFG-E8. MFG-E8 deficiency diminished uptake of apoptotic thymocytes by peritoneal macrophages upon CSE exposure. Overall, the findings in current work provide a novel target for diagnosing and treating COPD.

Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a serious condition in intensive care patients, resulting in severe inflammation and remote organ damage. The activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/p70 ribosomal S6 kinase (p70S6K) signaling pathway exerts protective effect against ischemia/reperfusion injury. Ghrelin, an orexigenic hormone, inhibits the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-6. In this study, we investigated the effects of ghrelin on gut I/R injury and the regulation of the mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway following gut I/R injury in mice. C57BL/6 mice underwent superior mesenteric artery occlusion for 45 min, followed by reperfusion for 4 h. Ghrelin was administered at the onset of reperfusion. We assessed survival, organ injury variables, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and observed the histological changes of the small intestine and lungs. Our results revealed that the administration of ghrelin inhibited the release of certain pro-inflammatory cytokines, reduced neutrophil infiltration, attenuated organ injury and improved survival following gut I/R injury. The administration of D-Lys-GHRP6, a specific ghrelin receptor antagonist, to a certain extent, counteracted the protective effects of ghrelin in gut I/R-induced organ injury and mortality. To determine whether the beneficial effects of ghrelin following gut I/R injury are associated with the mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway, the phosphorylation levels of mTOR and p70S6K were detected by western blot analysis. Our results revealed that mTOR and p70S6K phosphorylation increased in the tissue from the small intestine and pulmonary tissue in the animals treated with ghrelin. These findings suggest that ghrelin attenuates organ injury following gut I/R by promoting the activation of the mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway.

Background and Aims Autoimmune processes are involved in the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Autoantibodies against cytokeratin 18 (CK18) and cytokeratin 19 (CK19) could be associated with lung injury. We undertook this study to investigate the role of these autoantibodies against CK18 and CK19 in the development of COPD. Methods and Results We used blood samples from 228 COPD patients or 136 healthy controls and male C57BL/6j mice as experimental subjects to analyze the serum autoantibody levels against CK18 or CK19 autoantigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We found that the circulating autoantibody levels of IgG, IgA, IgM against CK18 and CK19 were elevated in patients with COPD compared with healthy controls, which were increased gradually as the severity of the disease increases, especially in GOLD III and GOLD IV with the exception of anti-CK19 IgG and anti-CK18 IgA autoantibodies. Moreover, we observed that the serum levels of anti-CK18 and anti-CK19 IgG autoantibodies were higher in mice exposed to cigarette smoke compared with mice exposed to room air for 6 months and 9 months. Additionally, we identified the distribution of antibodies and the presence of autoantibodies (IgG) against CK18 and CK19 in the damaged lung tissues of mice. Conclusions Increased circulating autoantibodies against CK18 and CK19 are closely related to the progression of COPD, which play an important role in the process of lung injury in COPD, suggesting that it is promising for anti-CK18 and anti-CK19 autoantibodies to serve as a tool to monitor lung damage and guide treatment.

Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder of vision that occurs when the visual cortex receives decorrelated inputs from the two eyes during an early critical period of development. Amblyopic eyes are subject to suppression from the fellow eye, generate weaker visual evoked potentials (VEPs) than fellow eyes and have multiple visual deficits including impairments in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Primate models and human psychophysics indicate that stronger suppression is associated with greater deficits in amblyopic eye contrast sensitivity and visual acuity. We tested whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the visual cortex would modulate VEP amplitude and contrast sensitivity in adults with amblyopia. tDCS can transiently alter cortical excitability and may influence suppressive neural interactions. Twenty-one patients with amblyopia and twenty-seven controls completed separate sessions of anodal (a-), cathodal (c-) and sham (s-) visual cortex tDCS. A-tDCS transiently and significantly increased VEP amplitudes for amblyopic, fellow and control eyes and contrast sensitivity for amblyopic and control eyes. C-tDCS decreased VEP amplitude and contrast sensitivity and s-tDCS had no effect. These results suggest that tDCS can modulate visual cortex responses to information from adult amblyopic eyes and provide a foundation for future clinical studies of tDCS in adults with amblyopia.

Citation information: Chen H, Wen F, Li H, Zuo C, Zhang X, Huang S & Luo G. The types and severity of high myopic maculopathy in Chinese patients. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2011. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1313.2011.00861.x Abstract Objective: To describe the severity and morphological features of high myopic maculopathy in Chinese patients and to evaluate their association with age, refractive error and visual acuity. Methods: Six hundred and four eyes of 337 patients (ages 8–88 years) with high myopia (refractive error ≤ −6.0 D) presenting to the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center were studied retrospectively. All patients underwent an ophthalmological examination including digital colour fundus photography. Fundus fluorescein angiography was performed in 251 patients (443 eyes) and indocyanine green angiography was performed in 35 patients (63 eyes). The type and severity of myopic degeneration were categorized in each eye. Risk factors associated with high myopic maculopathy were evaluated using General Estimating Equation models. Results: Two hundred and fifty-one patients (443 eyes) presented with maculopathy in this study. The most common subtype of high myopic maculopathy was lacquer cracks (prevalence 29.1%). The most commonly observed degree was M3 (choroidal pallor and tessellation, with posterior staphyloma and lacquer cracks). Older age was significantly associated with diffuse chorioretinal atrophy (p = 0.024), patchy chorioretinal atrophy (p

To identify the subtype frequency and clinical features of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Chinese patients. From January 2003 to August 2006, we investigated prospectively 155 newly diagnosed patients with presumed neovascular AMD. Fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) were performed in both eyes of all patients. Subtype frequency and clinical features were recorded according to their angiograms. Three subtypes of lesion were noted, which were polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) and mixed lesions. Of the 155 patients, 105 (67.7%) had choroidal neovascularization (CNV) of the typical type seen in AMD, 38 (24.5%) had PCV and seven (4.5%) had RAP. In five (3.2%) additional cases, mixed lesions were noted. In 38 cases (47 eyes) with PCV, the rates of subfoveal, juxtafoveal and extrafoveal lesion were respectively 29.8% (14 eyes), 8.5% (four eyes), and 61.7% (29 eyes), compared with 75.6%, 14.6% and 9.8% for CNV lesion (P

To evaluate the changes of the photoreceptor layer (PRL) thickness with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and the retinal function by mfERG, as well as the correlation of morphology and function parameters in subjects with early and intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Subjects with clinical diagnosis of early or intermediate AMD and age-matched healthy subjects were recruited prospectively in this study. Color fundus photography, SD-OCT, and mfERG were conducted. Retinal photoreceptor thickness was measured, and first-order kernel responses were recorded. The differences between AMD group and control group were compared, and the correlations between macular photoreceptor thickness and the mfERG were analyzed. PRL thickness (μm) in four areas including foveola and 0.5, 1.5, and 3 mm away from foveola was 192.48 ± 17.37, 163.73 ± 12.95, 130.93 ± 9.20, and 108.78 ± 7.81, respectively, in normal eyes, whereas in AMD group, they were 158.61 ± 45.25, 138.91 ± 20.92, 118.91 ± 12.85, and 95.00 ± 9.64, respectively (P

To show the follow-up of a case of vitelliform macular dystrophy with morphological and visual functional tests over an 8-year period.Retrospective review of medical records. The morphological examination included color photography, fluorescein angiography, and ocular coherence tomography (OCT). The visual functional tests included visual acuity, electro-oculogram (EOG) and multifocal electroretinography (mfERG). The patient was observed for 8 years, from 2003 to 2011.During the follow-up, the improvement of sensory retinal detachment and reduction of yellow-white deposit were observed with color photography and fluorescein angiography. OCT revealed a decrease in sensory retinal detachment and subretinal hyper-reflective deposits; both of these morphological changes were correspondent. Visual acuity was maintained throughout the follow-up. The Arden ratio of EOG was decreased. The amplitudes of mfERG were decreased but slightly increased during the follow-up.The retinal morphological changes and visual function slightly improved in this case of vitelliform maculopathy. The prognosis is good.

The purpose of this study was to analyze indocyanine green (ICG) angiographic findings of Dalen-Fuchs nodules in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease. ICG angiograms of 15 patients (30 eyes) with Dalen-Fuchs nodules in VKH disease of between 2 months and 5 years after the initial diagnosis were retrospectively studied. Findings of ICG angiography were compared with features of fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA). Dalen-Fuchs nodules were easily found in the inferior (30 eyes, 100%) and temporal periphery (22 eyes, 73%) and showed two kinds of fluorescence in ICG angiography. In ten patients (20 eyes), the nodules showed small round hypofluorescent dark dots in the whole process of angiography, and the dark dots were larger in size than the nodules in FFA. Disease course in these patients was relatively long—between 1 year and 5 years. On clinical examination, the nodules were atrophic, and hyperpigmentation was found around them. In another five patients (ten eyes), parts of the nodules showed small hyperfluorescent dots in the early phase, but they were faint in the intermediate phase and became large, hypofluorescent dark dots in the late phase. Disease course in these patients was between 2 and 8 months. The nodules were bright yellow, fresh, and much larger than those in the first kind of ICG fluorescence. Dalen-Fuchs nodules in VKH are mostly present in the inferior and temporal periphery. The two kinds of fluorescence of Dalen-Fuchs in ICG angiography may reflect obliteration of choriocapillaris under the nodules and different quantities of lipofuscin in the nodules at different time points of the disease.

To measure and compare the multifocal electroretinography in normal control and X-linked juvenile retinoschisis, 13 cases (13 right eyes) of normal control and nine cases (17 eyes) of X-linked juvenile retinoschisis were measured with VERIS Science 4.0. Four cases (eight eyes) out of the nine retinoschisis cases were tested with Ganzfeld ERG at the same day. The results showed statistically significant difference of average response densities and latencies in six ring retinal regions between the normal control and retinoschisis. The trace array and 3-D topography of multifocal ERG showed multi-area amplitude decrease with absence or reduction of central peak amplitude in patients with retinoschisis. The P1/N1 ratio of multifocal ERG average response densities in six ring retinal regions was different from the b/a ratio of Ganzfeld ERG. The multifocal ERG and Ganzfeld ERG each had its advantage in the diagnosis of retinoschisis.

Purpose: To compare multifocal electroretinograms (ERGs) in control subjects and patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). Method: Eighteen eyes of control subjects and 15 eyes affected by CSC were tested with a VERIS Sciences 4.0 system. The average response densities and latencies of six annular retinal regions in control subjects were compared with those with CSC. Results: The N1, P1 average response densities of the first and second annuli were decreased and the N1, P1 latencies of first to third rings were delayed in CSC. Conclusion: The multifocal ERG can be used to evaluate retinal dysfunction in CSC.

To evaluate the ability of the multifocal ERG (mfERG) to detect small defects in the stimulus array was the objective of this paper. Seven normal subjects had mfERGs recorded with a VERIS system. Stimulus arrays composed of 61, 103 or 241 hexagons were covered in part by small masks of different light transmittance properties. Only masks that covered at least one-half of a single 103 hexagon stimulus cell caused a significant reduction in signal. Different-shaped masks of about 5° diameter were detectable using a 61-hexagon array only when they fully covered a stimulus cell. Detection was better, but marginal for some of the masks, with the 103 hexagon array. The 241 hexagon array showed sharp defects for all masks. Masking the stimulus screen is not equivalent to having a pathologic scotoma, but it demonstrates the greatest possible spatial sensitivity of the mfERG system. Thus, the mfERG appears to be able to detect small retinal lesions if they reduce local retinal function by at least 50% and correspond to at least half the area of one stimulus hexagon. Scotomas 5° or smaller would be best detected using a fine (241 hexagon) stimulus array. With coarser stimulus arrays (e.g. 103 or 61 hexagons), the effect of a small scotoma depends on its location relative to the stimulus cells. These issues should be considered when selecting mfERG recording conditions.

To measure and compare the multifocal electroretinogram in control group and patients with age-related maculopathies, 17 eyes of control subjects, 9 eyes of wet-form ARMD, 8 eyes of dry-form ARMD and 14 eyes of idiopathic macular hole were tested with VERIS Sciences 4.0. The latencies and average response densities of 6 ring retinal regions in control eyes were compared with those in ARMD and macular hole. The amplitude depression and latency prolongation were found in age-related maculopathies. The changes of multifocal ERG were dramatic in wet-form ARMD and moderate in dry-form ARMD and IMH, which were correspondent with the pathological changes of the diseases. Our results suggest that the multifocal electroretinogram can be used to quantity the visual function in age-related maculopathies.

We reported a 5-years old boy with frosted branch angiitis in both eyes. The visual acuities of the two eyes were suddenly lost to 5/50. The fluorescein angiography, electroretinograms (ERGs) and pattern evoked potentials (PVEPs) had been tested at the acute and the recovery stage of the disease. At the onset of the disease, fluorescein angiography showed obvious dye leakage from dilated retinal veins. The PVEPs and whole field ERGs including rod, maximum, OPs and cone responses were seriously decreased and prolonged, indicating that the visual pathway's and retinal functions were greatly damaged. The patient had an excellent response to systemic prednisone. One month after the treatment, the visual acuities recovered to 60/50 in both eyes. The fluorescein angiography showed that leakage from blood vessels was diminished, but the lesions at macula and optic disc were persisted a longer time even to the end of treatment. Through 6 months medication, nearly all of the electrophysiological abnormalities had been resolved.

In the past 50 years, China has experienced a valuable development stage of clinical visual physiology and made substantial progresses in the aspects. It not only contributes to ophthalmology development, but also cultivates the precious visual physiology scientist and researcher groups in China and will advance Chinese ophthalmology toward a glorious future.

To describe the severity and morphological features of high myopic maculopathy in Chinese patients and to evaluate their association with age, refractive error and visual acuity.Six hundred and four eyes of 337 patients (ages 8-88 years) with high myopia (refractive error ≤ -6.0 D) presenting to the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center were studied retrospectively. All patients underwent an ophthalmological examination including digital colour fundus photography. Fundus fluorescein angiography was performed in 251 patients (443 eyes) and indocyanine green angiography was performed in 35 patients (63 eyes). The type and severity of myopic degeneration were categorized in each eye. Risk factors associated with high myopic maculopathy were evaluated using General Estimating Equation models.Two hundred and fifty-one patients (443 eyes) presented with maculopathy in this study. The most common subtype of high myopic maculopathy was lacquer cracks (prevalence 29.1%). The most commonly observed degree was M(3) (choroidal pallor and tessellation, with posterior staphyloma and lacquer cracks). Older age was significantly associated with diffuse chorioretinal atrophy (p = 0.024), patchy chorioretinal atrophy (p0.001), choroidal neovascularisation (CNV, p0.001) and macular atrophy (p = 0.002). Younger age was associated with lacquer cracks (p0.001). A higher degree of myopia was a risk factor for almost all kinds of maculopathy: tessellated fundus (p = 0.001), lacquer cracks (p0.001), diffuse chorioretinal atrophy (p0.001), patchy chorioretinal atrophy (p = 0.025) and macular atrophy p0.001), whereas a lower degree of myopia was associated with CNV (p = 0.001). A worse visual acuity was associated with lacquer cracks (p = 0.001), macular atrophy (p0.001) and CNV p0.001), while better visual acuity was associated with tessellated fundus (p0.001) and diffuse atrophy (p = 0.002). Older age (p0.001), more myopic refractive error (p0.001) and worse visual acuity (p0.001) were significantly associated with a greater severity of maculopathy. There was no gender difference in the type and severity of myopic maculopathy.Age and refractive error are important risk factors playing different roles in the development of distinct subtypes and varying severities of high myopic maculopathy. Visual acuity is significantly associated with various subtypes and the severity of high myopic maculopathy.

To characterize the clinical features of punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC) in Chinese patients.A retrospective chart review of all patients admitted with PIC from June 1999 to October 2009.Of the 75 patients (112 eyes) diagnosed with PIC, 72% were women, 80% were myopic, and 49% exhibited bilateral involvement. The mean age at presentation was 32 years. Blurred central vision (64%) and scotoma (40%) were the most common symptoms. Multifocal PIC lesions were mostly restricted to the posterior pole (95%). The acute lesions were yellow and demonstrated hyperfluorescence (61%) or mild hyperfluorescence (36%) on fluorescein angiography, mostly (75%)200 μm in diameter and10 in number. Indocyanine angiography showed subclinical hypofluorescent spots in 32% of the affected eyes. Choroidal neovascularization developed in 63% of affected eyes. Papilledema (3%) and segmental retinal phlebitis (2%) were rare. Intact follow-up data of 27 patients (43 eyes) were available. Acute lesions turned into punched-out atrophic lesions within 3 months. New visible lesions developed in 5 eyes within 1 year after symptom onset. New choroidal neovascularization developed in five eyes. The mean best-corrected visual acuity significantly improved at last follow-up (P = 0.039).Punctate inner choroidopathy in Chinese is not rare and primarily affects young myopic women. It features multifocal, small, yellow lesions that develop within a short period, principally in the posterior pole, with subsequent atrophy. Complicated choroidal neovascularization is frequent. General visual prognosis is moderately good.

This study compared the efficacy and safety of tiotropium bromide inhalation powder (spiriva) and doxofylline oral tablet (doxofylline) in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A multi-center, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-controlled study involved 127 eligible stable moderate to severe COPD patients treated with inhaled tiotropium dry powder (18 μg/day) or oral doxofylline tablets (0.2 g/time, 2 times a day) for 12 and 24 weeks. Before and after treatment for 12 weeks and 24 weeks, respectively, pulmonary function, 6-min walking distance and dyspnea index were recorded. The results showed that in both tiotropium group and doxofylline groups, after 12-week treatment, FEV(1), FEV(1)/FVC% and 6-min walk distance were significantly higher than those before the medication, while dyspnea index decreased as compared with that before treatment. After 24-week treatment, a slight improvement in the measures was observed as compared with that of 12-weeks treatment, but the difference was not statistically significant. With both 12-week and 24-week treatment, the effect of tiotropium was slightly better than that of doxofylline tablets, with the difference being statistically insignificant. The major adverse events in the tiotropium group and doxofylline group were observed in 9 cases (9.9%) and 12 cases (12.9%), respectively, and no statistically significant difference was found between them. We are led to conclude that both tiotropium at 18 μg a day and doxofylline tablets at 0.2 g/day (two times a day) are effective and safe for the treatment of COPD.

To analyze the retinal symmetry of multifocal visual evoked potential (mfVEP) in both eyes of normal subjects.The monocular mfVEP in both eyes of 36 normal subjects (72 eyes) were tested with VERIS Science 4.0. The stimulus was the pattern reversal dart array consisted of 60 sectors, each included 16 black-white reverse patterns. The visual stimulation was controlled by a binary pseudo-random m-sequence and subtended 25 degrees of retinal region.The mfVEP patterns between left and right eyes of each subject were similar, and P1 latency and amplitude in correspondent visual field quadrants between left and right eyes had no significant difference(P0.05). The latency of superotemporal visual field quadrant in right eyes was shorter than that of superonasal visual field quadrant in left eyes, and the amplitude of superonasal visual field quadrant in right eyes was longer than that of superotemporal visual field quadrant in left eyes(P0.05). The P1 latency and amplitude among four visual field quadrants of each eye had significant difference(P0.05). The P1 latency between the superonasal visual field quadrant and inferotemporal visual field quadrant or between the superonasal visual field quadrant and inferonasal quadrant visual field had significant differences in right or left eyes(P0.05).The mfVEP of normal subjects exists retinal symmetry.

Purpose To investigate whether common genetic variants in the complement component 1 inhibitor gene (serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade G, member 1, SERPING1) are associated with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in a Chinese Han population. Methods DNA samples were obtained from 118 PCV patients and 115 healthy subjects. Data derived from the HapMap project were used to select tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the extended SERPING1 region. A previously reported age-related macular degeneration-related risk factor (rs2511989) was forcibly included. Genotyping of each tag SNP was performed by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism and direct DNA sequencing techniques. Results Four SNPs for SERPING1, rs2509897, rs1005510, rs11603020, and rs2511989, were chosen as tag SNPs. None of these tag SNPs were associated with PCV, according to the single-SNP association test (p=0.41–0.83). Evaluation of common haplotypes across SERPING1 did not reveal any association with PCV (p=0.49–0.82). Conclusions We found no evidence to support the role of any common SERPING1 variants, including the rs2511989 variant, in the susceptibility to PCV in a Chinese Han population.

To investigate the autofluorescence of stale fundus haemorrhage in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) with indocyanine green angiography (ICGA).The color photographs and ICGA were performed in 36 eyes of 36 cases of exudative AMD or PCV with stale fundus haemorrhage. All of the cases were examined by funduscopy and fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA).Autofluorescence could be observed in all of the stale haemorrhage cases. Stale haemorrhage showed grayish color and the shapes and sizes of autofluorescence in ICGA were in accordance with those of the stale haemorrhage in the color photographs. The boundaries of autofluorescence were clear and the intensities were strong. The percentage of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) or PCV in or beside stale haemorrhage was significantly higher than that outside the stale haemorrhage (27 eyes, 75%).Autofluorescence of stale haemorrhage in ICGA can be mixed up with the high fluorescence of CNV and grapes-like polypoidal dilatation. It is helpful to compare the color photographs with ICGA and recognize the different ICGA characteristics in the assessment of ICGA results in these circumstances.

Electric resistance and emissions of hydrogen and radon isotopes of concrete (which is somewhat similar to fault-zone materials) under increasing uniaxial compression were continuously monitored to check whether they show any pre- and post-failure changes that may correspond to similar changes reported for earthquakes. The results show that all these parameters generally begin to increase when the applied stresses reach 20% to 90% of the corresponding failure stresses, probably due to the occurrence and growth of dilatant microcracks in the specimens. The prefailure changes have different patterns for different specimens, probably because of differences in spatial and temporal distributions of the microcracks. The resistance shows large co-failure increases, and the gas emissions show large post-failure increases. The post-failure increase of radon persists longer and stays at a higher level than that of hydrogen, suggesting a difference in the emission mechanisms for these two kinds of gases. The H2 increase may be mainly due to chemical reaction at the crack surfaces while they are fresh, whereas the Rn increases may be mainly the result of the increased emanation area of such surfaces. The results suggest that monitoring of resistivity and gas emissions may be useful for predicting earthquakes and failures of concrete structures.