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Abstract Background Studies have shown that visfatin is an inflammatory factor closely related to periodontitis. We examined the levels of visfatin in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and gingival tissues under different periodontal conditions, in order to provide more theoretical basis for exploring the role of visfatin in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Methods We enrolled 87 subjects, with 43 in the chronic periodontitis (CP) group, 21 in the chronic gingivitis (CG) group, and 23 in the periodontal health (PH) group. Periodontal indexes (PD, AL, PLI, and BI) were recorded. GCF samples were collected for visfatin quantification, and gingival tissues were assessed via immunohistochemical staining. Results Visfatin levels in GCF decreased sequentially from CP to CG and PH groups, with statistically significant differences (P

Abstract Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by multiple autoantibody types, some of which are produced by long-lived plasma cells (LLPC). Active SLE generates increased circulating antibody-secreting cells (ASC). Here, we examine the phenotypic, molecular, structural, and functional features of ASC in SLE. Relative to post-vaccination ASC in healthy controls, circulating blood ASC from patients with active SLE are enriched with newly generated mature CD19−CD138+ ASC, similar to bone marrow LLPC. ASC from patients with SLE displayed morphological features of premature maturation and a transcriptome epigenetically initiated in SLE B cells. ASC from patients with SLE exhibited elevated protein levels of CXCR4, CXCR3 and CD138, along with molecular programs that promote survival. Furthermore, they demonstrate autocrine production of APRIL and IL-10, which contributed to their prolonged in vitro survival. Our work provides insight into the mechanisms of generation, expansion, maturation and survival of SLE ASC.

Establishing an urban ecological network is a means to improve the ecological environment and enhance sustainable urban development amidst rapid urbanization. Based on the demand of eco-city, morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA), ecological regulation services value (ERSV), and landscape connectivity have been combined to identify ecological resources with high connectivity and ecological benefits in this study. Using the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) model, ecological corridors have been constructed and ecological critical nodes have been identified. In addition, the urban ecological network has then been optimized from the overall layout and local key nodes based on the circuit theory to balance the ecological livability and species diversity in the eco-city. The main conclusions could be demonstrated as follows: (1) 76.45% of the high ecological regulation service value areas have been identified as core areas. (2) The distribution of ecological corridors has been found uneven with significant disparities (3) The connectivity indices, especially the line point rate (β) index, have increased by 21.66%, while the robustness has increased by 75.44%. Overall, the combined methods have been used to establish and optimize the ecological network within the limited space to balance the ecological livability and biodiversity. The results of this study could provide a scientific reference for the optimization of urban ecological space and promote sustainable development in the eco-city.

In this paper, an island integrated energy system (IES) combining power, heat and hydrogen (CPHH) is built, and optimal power-heat-hydrogen scheduling is studied under actual plateau meteorological data. Considering the comprehensive demands of residents, an IES including renewable energy sources (RESs), fuel cell, electrolyzer, electric boiler, thermal energy storage device and new energy vehicles is established and operated. In the first stage of operation, according to the prediction of RESs and demands, day-ahead optimization is carried out which aims to minimize operation cost, while electric vehicles (EVs) are considered as special demand response (DR) loads. For the second stage of operation, ultra-short-term prediction is implemented to provide prediction data for model predictive control (MPC), realizing real-time operation. Functioning as a CPHH system, the fuel cell and electrolyzer collaborate to meet various needs of the plateau residential area with high efficiency. In addition, the method and IES structure proposed in this paper is compared with other options.

With the increasing presence of intermittent energy resources in microgrids, it is difficult to precisely predict the output of renewable resources and their load demand. In order to realize the economical operations of the system, an energy management method based on a model predictive control (MPC) and dynamic programming (DP) algorithm is proposed. This method can reasonably distribute the energy of the battery, fuel cell, electrolyzer and external grid, and maximize the output of the distributed power supply while ensuring the power balance and cost optimization of the system. Based on an ultra-short-term forecast, the output power of the photovoltaic array and the demand power of the system load are predicted. The offline global optimization of traditional dynamic programming is replaced by the repeated rolling optimization in a limited period of time to obtain power values of each unit in the energy storage system. Compared with the traditional DP, MILP-MPC and the logic based real-time management method, the proposed energy management method is proved to be feasible and effective.

BackgroundThis study aimed to explore the postoperative myopic shift and its relationship to visual acuity rehabilitation in patients with bilateral congenital cataracts (CCs).MethodsBilateral CC patients who underwent cataract extraction and primary intraocular lens implantations before 6 years old were included and divided into five groups according to surgical ages (

However, it is still difficult for clinicians to establish prognostic stratifications and therapeutic strategies because of the lack of tools for predicting the survival of triple-negative breast cancer patients with liver metastases (TNBC-LM). Based on clinical data from large populations, a sensitive and discriminative nomogram was developed and validated to predict the prognosis of TNBC patients with LM at initial diagnosis or at the later course. Introduction/background: Liver metastasis (LM) in TNBC patients is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to construct a clinical model to predict the survival of TNBC-LM patients. Materials and methods: Clinicopathologic data were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University (FAFSYU). Based on patients with newly diagnosed TNBC with LM (nTNBC-LM) from the SEER database, a predictive nomogram was established and validated. Its predictive effect on TNBC patients with LM at later disease course by enrolling TNBC patients from FAFSYU who developed LM later. The prognostic effect of different treatment for nTNBC-LM was further assessed. Results: A prognostic model was developed and validated to predict the prognosis of TNBC-LM patients. For LM patients diagnosed at the initial or later treatment stage, the C-index (0.712, 0.803 and 0.699 in the training, validation and extended groups, respectively) and calibration plots showed the acceptable prognostic accuracy and clinical applicability of the nomogram. Surgical resection on the primary tumour and chemotherapy were found to be associated with significantly better overall survival (OS). Conclusion: A sensitive and discriminative model was developed to predict OS in TNBC-LM patients both at and after initial diagnosis.

Abstract Background Cranio-lenticulo-sutural dysplasia (CLSD) is a rare dysmorphic syndrome characterized by skeletal dysmorphism, late-closing fontanels, and cataracts. CLSD is caused by mutations in the SEC23A gene (OMIM# 607812) and can be inherited in either an autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive pattern. To date, only four mutations have been reported to cause CLSD. This study aims to identify the disease-causing variants in a large cohort of congenital cataract patients, to expand the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of CLSD, and to confirm the association between SEC23A and autosomal recessive CLSD (ARCLSD). Methods We collected detailed medical records and performed comprehensive ocular examinations and whole-exome sequencing (WES) on 115 patients with congenital cataracts. After suspecting that a patient may have CLSD based on the sequencing results, we proceeded to conduct transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on the cultured skin fibroblasts. The clinical validity of the reported gene-disease relationships for the gene and the disease was evaluated using the ClinGen gene curation framework. Results Two novel compound heterozygous variants (c.710A > C p.Asp237Ala, c.1946T > C p.Leu649Pro) of the SEC23A gene, classified as variant of uncertain significance, were identified in the proband with skeletal, cardiac, ocular, and hearing defects. The observation of typical distended endoplasmic reticulum cisternae further supported the diagnosis of CLSD. Application of the ClinGen gene curation framework confirmed the association between SEC23A and ARCLSD. Conclusion This study expands the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of CLSD, proposes TEM as a supplemental diagnostic method, and indicates that congenital cataracts are a typical sign of ARCLSD.

Abstract A coordinated scheduling model based on two-stage distributionally robust optimization (TSDRO) is proposed for integrated energy systems (IESs) with electricity-hydrogen hybrid energy storage. The scheduling problem of the IES is divided into two stages in the TSDRO-based coordinated scheduling model. The first stage addresses the day-ahead optimal scheduling problem of the IES under deterministic forecasting information, while the second stage uses a distributionally robust optimization method to determine the intraday rescheduling problem under high-order uncertainties, building upon the results of the first stage. The scheduling model also considers collaboration among the electricity, thermal, and gas networks, focusing on economic operation and carbon emissions. The flexibility of these networks and the energy gradient utilization of hydrogen units during operation are also incorporated into the model. To improve computational efficiency, the nonlinear formulations in the TSDRO-based coordinated scheduling model are properly linearized to obtain a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming model. The Column-Constraint Generation (C&CG) algorithm is then employed to decompose the scheduling model into a master problem and subproblems. Through the iterative solution of the master problem and subproblems, an efficient analysis of the coordinated scheduling model is achieved. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed TSDRO-based coordinated scheduling model is verified through case studies. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed TSDRO-based coordinated scheduling model can effectively accomplish the optimal scheduling task while considering the uncertainty and flexibility of the system. Compared with traditional methods, the proposed TSDRO-based coordinated scheduling model can better balance conservativeness and robustness.

During the operation of high-speed railway, the transition-point disappearance phenomenon, which is caused by the deformation of pantograph head, poses a safety threat to the pantograph-catenary system. In this study, the analytical model for transition-point disappearance analysis is presented. The instantaneous profile, as well as the deformation process of the pantograph head under different contact force values and positions or different pantograph-head parameters can be solved using the model. Curve equation, force analysis, coordinate axis rotation, and few other methods are adopted to achieve simplified modeling. The proposed modeling method and analysis conclusion provide theoretical support for the permissible contact force range calculation and pantograph-head parameters optimization to prevent transition-point disappearance. The effectiveness of the proposed model is verified using both finite element simulation and experimental measurements. Finally, a case analysis for the prevention of transition-point disappearance is conducted, using pantographs with the models CX-GI and DSA250 as examples.

Towards intelligent treatment for glaucoma, here authors demonstrate integrated wireless theranostic contact lenses for in situ electrical sensing of intraocular pressure and on demand anti-glaucoma drug delivery.

BackgroundIn breast cancer patients with HER2-negative tumors (tHER2-), HER2-positive CTCs (cHER2+) were associated with promising efficacy of HER2-targeted therapy, but controversy has persisted over its prognostic effect. We developed a model including clinicopathologic parameters/blood test variables to predict cHER2 status and evaluated the prognostic value of cHER2+ in tHER2- patients.MethodscHER2+ was detected, blood test results and clinicopathological characteristics were combined, and a nomogram was constructed to predict cHER2 status in tHER2- patients according to logistic regression analysis. The nomogram was evaluated by C-index values and calibration curve. Kaplan–Meier curves, log-rank tests, and Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic value of cHER2 status.ResultsTNM stage, white blood cells (WBCs), neutrophils (NEUs), uric acid (UA), De Ritis ratio [aspartate transaminase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT)], and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were found to be associated with cHER2 status in tHER2- patients in univariate logistic regression analysis, in which UA and De Ritis ratio remained significant in multivariate logistic regression analysis. A model combining these six variables was constructed, the C-index was 0.745 (95% CI: 0.630–0.860), and the calibration curve presented a perfect predictive consistency. In survival analysis, patients of the subgroups “with cHER2+/UA-low” (p = 0.015) and “with cHER2+/De Ritis ratio – high” (p = 0.006) had a significantly decreased disease-free survival (DFS).ConclusionsOur nomogram, based on TNM stage, WBC, NEU, UA, De Ritis ratio, and HDL, may excellently predict the cHER2 status of tHER2- patients. Incorporation with UA and De Ritis ratio may enhance the prognostic value of cHER2 status.

Abstract Corneal injury can lead to severe vision impairment or even blindness. Although numerous methods are developed to accelerate corneal wound healing, most of them are passive treatments that rarely participate in controlling endogenous cell behaviors or are incompatible with nontransparent bandage. In this work, a wireless‐powered electrical bandage contact lens (EBCL) is developed to generate a localized external electric field to accelerate corneal wound healing and vision recovery. The wireless electrical stimulation circuit employed a flower‐shaped layout design that can be compactly integrated on bandage contact lens without blocking the vision. The role of the external electric field in promoting corneal wound healing is examined in vitro, where the responses of directional migration and corneal cells alignment to the electric field are observed. The RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) analysis indicates that the electrical stimulation can participate in controlling cell division, proliferation, and migration. Furthermore, the wireless EBCL is demonstrated to accelerate the completed recovery of corneal wounds on rabbits’ eyes by electrical stimulation, while the control group exhibits delayed recovery and obvious corneal defects. As a new generation of intelligent device, the wireless and patient‐friendly EBCL can provide a promising therapeutic strategy for ocular diseases.

PurposeTo compare the effects of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) and conventional phacoemulsification surgery (CPS) on subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) in patients with age-related cataracts.MethodsIn this prospective consecutive study, 26 patients (26 eyes) with age-related cataracts without previous ocular surgery or other ocular diseases who had FLACS were included as the study group. Twenty-six age-matched patients (26 eyes) who underwent CPS in the same period were also included as the control group. The SFCT and the foveal retinal thickness (FRT) were measured at baseline and at 1 day (D1), 7 days (D7), 1 month (M1), and 3 months (M3) postoperatively by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Aqueous flare was also measured with a laser flare meter.ResultsThe mean SFCTs of the FLACS group at baseline and at D1, D7, M1, and M3 were 185.2, 174.3, 184.2, 180.8, and 184.1 μm, respectively. A Bonferroni posttest showed that the choroid became thinner on postoperative D1 (P = 0.006). The measurements at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months postoperatively showed no significant differences in the SFCTs compared with that at baseline (P = 0.66, P = 0.22, and P = 0.53, respectively). A different trend was observed in the CPS group. The choroid became thicker by the 3-month postoperative measurement, as follows: 1 day (P = 0.28), 1 week (P = 0.016), 1 month (P = 0.020), and 3 months (P < 0.001).ConclusionThe mean SFCT significantly and temporarily decreased following FLACS. In contrast, an increased SFCT was observed following CPS.

Integrated development of urban agglomeration is emerging as the main pattern of China’s new modernization. Yet, atmospheric pollution continues to have an adverse impact on public health, challenging efforts to promote coordinated regional development. To better understand the interaction between atmospheric pollution-related health burdens and urbanization, this study employed deep learning technology to obtain high-resolution satellite-derived PM2.5 concentration data across the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region. Using the Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM), this study estimated premature mortality resulting from long-term exposure to PM2.5 and innovatively incorporated exposure factors to improve accuracy. Results indicated that while PM2.5 concentrations decreased by 16.13% from 2015 to 2019, the region still experienced 239,000 premature mortalities in 2019, with notable disparities among cities of different economic levels and sizes. Furthermore, it was found through correlation analysis that residential density and GDP per capita were highly associated with premature mortality. In conclusion, these findings highlight the continuing challenge of achieving equitable effectiveness of joint air pollution control across regions in the context of integrated development of urban agglomeration.

Abstract The current dogma in ophthalmology and vision research presumes the intraocular environment to be sterile. However, recent evidence of intestinal bacterial translocation into the bloodstream and many other internal organs including the eyes, found in healthy and diseased animal models, suggests that the intraocular cavity may also be inhabited by a microbial community. Here, we tested intraocular samples from over 1000 human eyes. Using quantitative PCR, negative staining transmission electron microscopy, direct culture, and high-throughput sequencing technologies, we demonstrated the presence of intraocular bacteria. The possibility that the microbiome from these low-biomass communities could be a contamination from other tissues and reagents was carefully evaluated and excluded. We also provide preliminary evidence that a disease-specific microbial signature characterized the intraocular environment of patients with age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, suggesting that either spontaneous or pathogenic bacterial translocation may be associated with these common sight-threatening conditions. Furthermore, we revealed the presence of an intraocular microbiome in normal eyes from non-human mammals and demonstrated that this varied across species (rat, rabbit, pig, and macaque) and was established after birth. These findings represent the first-ever evidence of intraocular microbiota in humans.

The fatigue fracture of dropper will threaten the safe operation of high-speed railway. The accurate measurement of dropper load plays an important role in dropper fatigue test and service life prediction. In this work, according to the structural characteristics of catenary suspension and based on string vibration theory, a contactless method for measuring dropper load is proposed. In this method, the edge recognition technology is used to obtain the vibration displacement time history data of the dropper clamp position on the messenger wire, the random vibration is transformed into the linear superposition of sinusoidal vibration through Fourier transform to solve the vibration differential equation. Through the relationship between the shape change of messenger wire and concentrated force, the change of dropper load is analyzed. The measurement accuracy is tested on the test platform built in the laboratory, and the results show the measurement accuracy can reach 0.50%.

Warburg Micro syndrome (WARBM) is an autosomal recessive neuro-ophthalmologic syndrome characterized by microcephaly, microphthalmia, congenital cataracts, cortical dysplasia, corpus callosum hypoplasia, spasticity, and hypogonadism. WARBM is divided into four subtypes according to the causative genes, of which RAB3GAP1 (OMIM# 602536) accounts for the highest proportion. We collected detailed medical records and performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) for a congenital cataract patient. A novel heterozygous frameshift RAB3GAP1 variant was detected in a boy with a rare ocular phenotype of bilateral membranous cataracts accompanied by a persistent papillary membrane. Further copy number variation (CNV) analysis identified a novel deletion on chromosome 2q21.3 that removed 4 of the 24 exons of RAB3GAP1. The patient was diagnosed with WARBM following genetic testing. The present study expands the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of WARBM. It suggests applying whole exome sequencing (WES) and CNV analysis for the early diagnosis of syndromic diseases in children with congenital cataracts.

Abstract A challenge of chronic diseases that remains to be solved is how to liberate patients and medical resources from the burdens of long-term monitoring and periodic visits. Precise management based on artificial intelligence (AI) holds great promise; however, a clinical application that fully integrates prediction and telehealth computing has not been achieved, and further efforts are required to validate its real-world benefits. Taking congenital cataract as a representative, we used Bayesian and deep-learning algorithms to create CC-Guardian, an AI agent that incorporates individualized prediction and scheduling, and intelligent telehealth follow-up computing. Our agent exhibits high sensitivity and specificity in both internal and multi-resource validation. We integrate our agent with a web-based smartphone app and prototype a prediction-telehealth cloud platform to support our intelligent follow-up system. We then conduct a retrospective self-controlled test validating that our system not only accurately detects and addresses complications at earlier stages, but also reduces the socioeconomic burdens compared to conventional methods. This study represents a pioneering step in applying AI to achieve real medical benefits and demonstrates a novel strategy for the effective management of chronic diseases.

To better balance the reliability and conservativeness of uncertainty sets of robust optimization, the concept of adaptive uncertainty sets is proposed in this paper. There are two processes contained in the proposed adaptive uncertainty sets, which are point prediction and uncertainty sets determination. In the process of point prediction, the Long Short-term Memory Network (LSTM) is used to predict the renewable energy output. In the process of uncertainty sets determination, firstly, the prediction data is granulated based on the Modified Fuzzy Information Granulation (MFIG). Then the adjustable parameters are introduced to modify the upper and lower limit parameters of the information granules. Based on the above, the modeling of adaptive uncertainty sets can be achieved. To verify the performance of the proposed adaptive uncertainty sets, three groups of wind power output data of California are introduced to the contrast experiments. The simulation results demonstrate that, under 90% confidence level, the adaptive uncertainty sets method has a higher prediction interval coverage probability and a smaller prediction interval average width compared to the box uncertainty sets and the ellipsoidal uncertainty sets, which illustrates the good performance of the adaptive uncertainty sets in reliability and conservativeness.

Purpose: To broaden the mutation and phenotype spectrum of the GJA8 and CHMP4B genes and to reveal genotype-phenotype correlations in a cohort of Chinese patients with congenital cataracts (CCs).Methods: Six Chinese Han families with CCs inherited in an autosomal dominant (AD) pattern were recruited for this study. All patients underwent full ocular examinations. Genomic DNA was extracted from the leukocytes of peripheral blood collected from all available patients and their unaffected family members. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed on all probands and at least one of their parents. Candidate variants were further confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Bioinformatic analysis with several computational predictive programs was performed to assess the impacts of the candidate variants on the structure and function of the proteins.Results: Four heterozygous candidate variants in three different genes (CRYBB2, GJA8, and CHMP4B) were identified in affected individuals from the six families, including two novel missense variants (GJA8: c.64G > C/p. G22R, and CHMP4B: c.587C > G/p. S196C), one missense mutation (CRYBB2: c.562C > T/p. R188C), and one small deletion (GJA8: c.426_440delGCTGGAGGGGACCCT/p.143_147delLEGTL). The three missense mutations were predicted as deleterious in all four computational prediction programs. In the homologous model, the GJA8: p.143_147delLEGTL mutation showed a sequence deletion of five amino acids at the cytoplasmic loop of the Cx50 protein, close to the third transmembrane domain. Patients carrying mutations in the same gene showed similar cataract phenotypes at a young age, including total cataracts, Y-sutural with fetal nuclear cataracts, and subcapsular cataracts.Conclusion: This study further expands the mutation spectrum and genotype-phenotype correlation of CRYBB2, GJA8, and CHMP4B underlying CCs. This study sheds light on the importance of comparing congenital cataract phenotypes in patients at the same age stage. It offers clues for the pathogenesis of CCs and allows for an early prenatal diagnosis for families carrying these genetic variants.

Reliable validated methods are necessary to verify the performance of diagnosis and therapy-assisted models in clinical practice. However, some validated results have research bias and may not reflect the results of real-world application. In addition, the conduct of clinical trials has executive risks for the indeterminate effectiveness of models and it is challenging to finish validated clinical trials of rare diseases. Real world data (RWD) can probably solve this problem. In our study, we collected RWD from 251 patients with a rare disease, childhood cataract (CC) and conducted a retrospective study to validate the CC surgical decision model. The consistency of the real surgical type and recommended surgical type was 94.16%. In the cataract extraction (CE) group, the model recommended the same surgical type for 84.48% of eyes, but the model advised conducting cataract extraction and primary intraocular lens implantation (CE + IOL) surgery in 15.52% of eyes, which was different from the real-world choices. In the CE + IOL group, the model recommended the same surgical type for 100% of eyes. The real-recommended matched rates were 94.22% in the eyes of bilateral patients and 90.38% in the eyes of unilateral patients. Our study is the first to apply RWD to complete a retrospective study evaluating a clinical model, and the results indicate the availability and feasibility of applying RWD in model validation and serve guidance for intelligent model evaluation for rare diseases.

Visual neuroadaptation is believed to play an important role in determining the final visual outcomes following intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. To investigate visual neuroadaptation in patients with age-related cataracts (ARCs) after phacoemulsification with multifocal and monofocal IOL implantation, we conducted a prospective, controlled clinical trial in Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center. This study included 22 patients with bilateral ARCs: 11 patients underwent phacoemulsification and multifocal IOL (Mu-IOL) implantation, and 11 patients underwent phacoemulsification and monofocal IOL (Mo-IOL) implantation. Visual disturbances (glare and halos), visual function (including visual acuity, retinal straylight, contrast sensitivity, and visual evoked potentials) and visual cortical function (fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, fALFF) in Bowman’s areas 17–19 as the region of interest were assessed before and after surgeries. The results showed that the fALFF values of the visual cortex in the Mu-IOL group decreased at 1 week postoperatively and recovered to baseline at 3 months and then improved at 6 months, compared with preoperative levels (at a whole-brain threshold of P < 0.05, AlphaSim-corrected, voxels > 228, repeated measures analysis of variance). Significantly increased fALFF values in the visual cortex were detected 1 week after surgery in the Mo-IOL group and decreased to baseline at 3 and 6 months. The fALFF of the lingual gyrus was negatively correlated with visual disturbances (P < 0.05). To conclude, early postoperative visual neuroadaptation was detected in the Mu-IOL group by resting-state fMRI analysis. The different changing trends of postoperative fALFF values in the two groups indicated distinct neuroadaptations patterns after Mu-IOL and Mo-IOL implantation.

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a postmitotic monolayer located between the neuroretina and choroid, supports the retina and is closely associated with vision loss diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) upon dysfunction. Although environmental stresses are known to play critical roles in AMD pathogenesis and the roles of other stresses have been well investigated, glucose deprivation, which can arise from choriocapillary flow voids, has yet to be fully explored. In this study, we examined the involvement of VEGFR2 in glucose deprivation-mediated cell death and the underlying mechanisms. We found that VEGFR2 levels are a determinant for RPE cell death, a critical factor for dry AMD, under glucose deprivation. RNA sequencing analysis showed that upon VEGFR2 knockdown under glucose starvation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) are reduced. Consistently, VEGFR2 overexpression increased ER stress under the same condition. Although VEGFR2 was less expressed compared to EGFR1 and c-Met in RPE cells, it could elicit a higher level of ER stress induced by glucose starvation. Finally, downregulated VEGFR2 attenuated the oxidative stress and inflammatory factor expression, two downstream targets of ER stress. Our study, for the first time, has demonstrated a novel role of VEGFR2 in RPE cells under glucose deprivation, thus providing valuable insights into the mechanisms of AMD pathogenesis and suggesting that VEGFR2 might be a potential therapeutic target for AMD prevention, which may impede its progression.

The deletion of chromosome 11p13 involving the WT1 and PAX6 genes has been shown to cause WAGR syndrome (OMIM #194072), a rare genetic disorder that features Wilms’ tumor, aniridia, genitourinary anomalies, as well as mental retardation. In this study, we expand the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of WAGR syndrome by reporting on six patients from six unrelated families with different de novo deletions located on chromosome 11p13. Very rare phenotypes of lens automated absorption and lens thinning were detected in four of the six patients. We assessed the involvement of the ARL14EP gene in patients with and without severe lens abnormalities and found that its deletion may worsen the lens abnormalities in these patients.

ObjectivesNumerous task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging studies indicate the presence of compensatory functional improvement in patients with congenital cataracts. However, there is neuroimaging evidence that shows decreased sensory perception or cognition information processing related to visual dysfunction, which favors a general loss hypothesis. This study explored the functional connectivity between visual and other networks in children with congenital cataracts using resting state electroencephalography.MethodsTwenty-one children with congenital cataracts (age: 8.02 ± 2.03 years) and thirty-five sex- and age-matched normal sighted controls were enrolled to investigate functional connectivity between the visual cortex and the default mode network, the salience network, and the cerebellum network during resting state electroencephalography (eyes closed) recordings.ResultThe congenital cataract group was less active, than the control group, in the occipital, temporal, frontal and limbic lobes in the theta, alpha, beta1 and beta2 frequency bands. Additionally, there was reduced alpha-band connectivity between the visual and somatosensory cortices and between regions of the frontal and parietal cortices associated with cognitive and attentive control.ConclusionThe results indicate abnormalities in sensory, cognition, motion and execution functional connectivity across the developing brains of children with congenital cataracts when compared with normal controls. Reduced frontal alpha activity and alpha-band connectivity between the visual cortex and salience network might reflect attenuated inhibitory information flow, leading to higher attentional states, which could contribute to adaptation of environmental change in this group of patients.

Abstract Biosensors worn on or implanted in eyes have been garnering substantial attention since being proven to be an effective means to acquire critical biomarkers for monitoring the states of ophthalmic disease, diabetes. Among these disorders, glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness globally, usually results in irreversible blindness. Continuous intraocular pressure (IOP) monitoring is considered as an effective measure, which provides a comprehensive view of IOP changes that is beyond reach for the “snapshots” measurements by clinical tonometry. However, to satisfy the applications in ophthalmology, the development of IOP sensors are required to be prepared with biocompatible, miniature, transparent, wireless and battery‐free features, which are still challenging with many current fabrication processes. In this work, the recent advances in this field are reviewed by categorizing these devices into wearable and implantable IOP sensors. The materials and structures exploited for engineering these IOP devices are presented. Additionally, their working principle, performance, and the potential risk that materials and device architectures may pose to ocular tissue are discussed. This review should be valuable for preferable structure design, device fabrication, performance optimization, and reducing potential risk of these devices. It is significant for the development of future practical IOP sensors.

The introduction of hydrogen energy storage system (HESS) as a potential form of energy storage systems (ESSs) has a significant impact on original control and operation. This paper presents a hierarchical self-regulation control method, which can be divided into the supervisory layer and local layer control. The supervisory layer control decides the output power of ESSs, according to the operation cost function so that the system can reach economic optimum during the operation process. The local layer control adopts virtual inertia control with global power support to improve system stability. First, a HESS model composed of an electrolyzer, hydrogen storage tank, and the fuel cell is established. SOCH of hydrogen tank is defined to express produced and consumed hydrogen. Then, aiming at supervisory layer control, operation cost functions of battery energy storage system (BESS) and HESS under different operation modes are built. Virtual inertia of ac ESS and virtual capacitance of dc ESS are introduced for local layer control. Finally, the simulation results based on the RT-LAB platform of both 24-h operation case and step power change case verify the correctness of the proposed method. The comparison with only droop control method shows that the proposed method can achieve the lowest operation cost and improve system inertia.

For solving the problem of sequence failure diagnosis of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) water management subsystem, this paper proposes a PEMFC failure diagnosis method of time series based on the bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) network and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE). This approach adopts the normalization strategy to eliminate the influence caused by dimensional differences of different parameters. The t-SNE is presented to decrease the dimensionality of normalized data to the estimate of intrinsic dimensionality to extract key characteristic variables. The width of the diagnostic window is set to transform the original single moment diagnosis problem into the fault diagnosis problem of multi-variable time series, which is more consistent with the time scale and physical evolution law of the PEMFC water management fault generation. The 672 sets of training sets and 448 sets of test sets are learned and tested by the BiLSTM. The experimental results show that the BiLSTM-tSNE method can realize the sequence fault diagnosis of the PEMFC water management subsystem with 96.88% diagnostic accuracy and 24 s of operation time. Compared with the conventional approach of multi-class support vector machine algorithm, the training accuracy and the testing accuracy of the proposed method are improved by 15% and 16.88%, respectively. The operation time of the presented approach is only about 1/28 of the multi-class support vector machine algorithm.

The energy management strategy is the key to achieve fuel cell hybrid system operation with high-efficiency and low-energy cost. The widely used energy management strategies are established based on the fixed models of power sources energy consumption and efficiency. However, due to the gradual performance degradation of the fuel cell during the service period, some model parameters will change significantly and the fixed models will become increasingly inaccurate over time. Therefore, this paper established time-varying models of power sources energy consumption and efficiency by introducing the fuel cell degradation rate. On this basis, in order to reduce the energy consumption of the system, improve the fuel cell efficiency and relatively maintain the SOC level, a novel dual-mode energy management strategy, DMDEE, for hybrid vehicles was proposed. In order to improve the online operation speed of proposed energy management strategy, the optimal control rules were obtained by offline calculation first. Then through comparison experiments with other two energy management strategies, PMP and PF, it was verified that the proposed strategy can effectively reduce the system energy consumption and improve the efficiency of the fuel cell system, meanwhile could make the SOC regress after its deviating from ideal working area. In addition, the mode switching hysteresis control was also validated. Therefore, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed energy management strategy in this paper has been verified.

Corneal neovascularization (CNV) is one of the major causes of severe disorders in ocular surface. Subconjunctival administration provides a localized and effective delivery of anti-angiogenic agents to inhibit neovascularization. In the present study, the ABA triblock copolymer of poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) was used as a sustained drug delivery carrier for metformin (MET) and levofloxacin hydrochloride (LFH). Both drugs and PLGA-PEG-PLGA copolymers could be easily dissolved in water at low or room temperature and the mixed solution could form a drug-loaded thermosensitive hydrogel in terms of body temperature response. The in vitro release investigation displayed a sustained release of MET and LFH from the formulation for one month. The in vivo efficacy of subconjunctival injection of the MET + LFH loaded thermosensitive hydrogel in inhibiting CNV was evaluated on a mouse model of corneal alkali burn. Compared with the single administration of MET or LFH loaded thermosensitive hydrogel, the MET + LFH loaded thermosensitive hydrogel remarkably inhibited the formation of CNV. The sustained release of MET and an antibiotic (LFH) provides synergistic therapeutic outcome. As a result, the co-delivery of MET and LFH using PLGA-PEG-PLGA thermosensitive hydrogel by subconjunctival injection has great potential for ocular anti-angiogenic therapy.

Tacrolimus has been widely applied to prevent organ rejection after transplantation. However, the conventional pharmaceutical formulation of tacrolimus limits its applications in ocular therapy due to its hydrophobicity and low corneal penetrability. We optimized tacrolimus-loaded methoxy poly (ethylene glycol-block-poly (d, l)-lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (TAC-NPs) by simple and effective nanotechnology as a drug delivery system for corneal graft rejection to overcome these drawbacks. The prepared TAC-NPs were 82.9 ± 1.3 nm in size, and the drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were 8.01 ± 0.23% and 80.10 ± 2.33%. Furthermore, New Zealand rabbits were used to analyze the single-dose pharmacokinetics of the TAC-NPs using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). In rats with allogenic penetrating keratoplasty, the administration of TAC-NPs dispersion drops improved the TAC concentrations in the aqueous humor and cornea, consistent with a significantly higher effective inhibition of IL-2, IL-17, and VEGF expression compared with conventional 0.1% tacrolimus drops. Meanwhile, we also compared two different topical administration methods (including eye drop and subconjunctival injection) of TAC-NPs to maximize the sustained release characteristic of NPs. In summary, the small-sized TAC-NPs enhanced transcorneal permeation and absorption of TAC and more effectively inhibited corneal allograft rejection, which indicated that biodegradable polymeric nanomaterials-based drug delivery system had great potential for improving the clinical therapy efficacy of hydrophobic drugs.

Purpose. To introduce an effective method for separating extensive posterior synechiae and those located under or adjacent to surgical incisions. Methods. Pediatric patients who had been subjected to cataract surgery and developed troublesome posterior synechiae requiring secondary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation were recruited. All patients underwent microperipheral iridectomy at the 12 o’clock position. Then, an ophthalmic viscosurgical device was injected into the posterior chamber through the iris fistula to mechanically separate the posterior synechiae, using scissors to cut robust posterior synechiae if necessary. The results of posterior synechiolysis and the position of the implanted IOL were analyzed. Results. Sixteen patients (median age, 51.56 months; range, 28–80 months) were included. The scope of posterior synechia in clock was 4.42 (range, 1–10). All troublesome posterior synechiae were successfully separated using the microperipheral iridectomy method, and all patients underwent IOL implantation in the ciliary sulcus. There was one case of peripheral iridectomy-related early intraoperative bleeding; no bleeding was observed at the end of surgery. Conclusions. Microperipheral iridectomy is a useful method for the management of troublesome posterior synechiae during secondary IOL implantation in pediatric patients, which makes secondary IOL implantation an easier and safer method in some challenging cases.

To solve the problem of water management subsystem fault diagnosis in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system, a novel approach based on learning vector quantization neural network (LVQNN) and kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) is proposed. In the proposed approach, the KPCA method is used for processing strongly coupled fault data with a high dimension to reduce the data dimension and to extract new low-dimensional fault feature data. The LVQNN method is used to carry out fault recognition using the fault feature data. The effectiveness of the proposed fault detection method is validated using the experimental data of the PEMFC power system. Results show that the proposed method can quickly and accurately diagnose the three health states: normal state, water flooding failure and membrane dry failure, and the recognition accuracy can reach 96.93%. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper is suitable for processing the fault data with a high dimension and abundant quantities, and provides a reference for the application of water management subsystem fault diagnosis of PEMFC.

Purpose. To investigate the demographics and distribution of corneal astigmatism before cataract surgery in patients from western China and to compare and analyze these findings with those of patients in southern China. Setting. People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Design. Clinical-based cross-sectional study. Methods. Patients undergoing cataract surgery in the People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from February 2012 to August 2019 were recruited. Preoperative keratometric data measured by performing preoperative bilateral partial coherence interferometry (IOLMaster), and patient demographics were recorded and analyzed. Results. This study comprised 12,236 eyes of 7065 patients with a mean age of 64.75 ± 9.66 years, and 52.77% of the patients were female. The mean axial length was 23.14 ± 0.96 mm. Astigmatism ranged from 0 diopters (D) to 6.94 D, with a mean of 1.28 D. Corneal astigmatism was between 0.25 D and 1.25 D in 53.71% of eyes, 1.25 D or higher in 39.06% eyes, and less than 0.25 D in 7.23% of eyes. Astigmatism was with the rule (WTR) in 41.94% of the patients and against the rule (ATR) in 38.80% of patients. The mean flat and steep keratometry measurement was 43.19 ± 1.50 D and 44.24 ± 1.62 D, respectively. After matching, corneal astigmatism in western China was 1.30 ± 1.03 D, and it was significantly higher than that in southern China (0.98 ± 0.67 D, P

Background: Approximately 1 in 33 newborns is affected by congenital anomalies worldwide. We aimed to develop a practical model for identifying infants with a high risk of congenital cataracts (CCs), which is the leading cause of avoidable childhood blindness. Methods: This case-control study was performed in the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center and involved 2005 subjects, including 1274 children with CCs and 731 healthy controls. The CC identification models were established based on birth conditions, family medical history, and family environmental factors using the random forest (RF) and adaptive boosting methods (trained by 1129 CC cases and 609 healthy controls), which were tested by internal 4-fold cross-validation and external validation (145 CC cases and 122 healthy controls). The models were also tested using 4 datasets with gradually reduced proportions of CC patients (bilateral cases) to validate their performance in an approximate simulation of a clinical environment with a relatively low disease prevalence. Findings: The CC identification models showed high discrimination in both the 4-fold cross validation (area under the curve (AUC)=0.91 [95% confidence interval: 0.88–0.94] in bilateral cases; 0.82 [0.77–0.89] in unilateral cases) and external validation (AUC=0.93±0.05 in bilateral cases; 0.86±0.01 in unilateral cases), and achieved stable performance in the clinical tests (AUC=0.94–0.96 in the four subgroups by RF). Furthermore, family history of CC, low parental education level, and comorbidity were identified as the top three most relevant factors to both bilateral and unilateral CC diagnosis. Interpretation: Our CC identification models can accurately discriminate CC patients from healthy children and have the potential to serve as a complementary screening procedure, especially in undeveloped and remote areas. Keywords: Congenital anomaly, Congenital cataract, Identification model, Machine learning

Background: Visual function and brain function decline concurrently with aging. Notably, cataract patients often present with accelerated age-related decreases in brain function, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Optical structures of the anterior segment of the eyes, such as the lens and cornea, can be readily reconstructed to improve refraction and vision quality. However, the effects of visual restoration on human brain function and structure remain largely unexplored. Methods: A prospective, controlled clinical trial was conducted. Twenty-six patients with bilateral age-related cataracts (ARCs) who underwent phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation and 26 healthy controls without ARC, matched for age, sex, and education, were recruited. Visual functions (including visual acuity, visual evoke potential, and contrast sensitivity), the Mini-Mental State Examination and functional magnetic resonance imaging (including the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and grey matter volume variation) were assessed for all the participants and reexamined for ARC patients after cataract surgery. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02644720). Findings: Compared with the healthy controls, the ARC patients presented decreased brain functionality as well as structural alterations in visual and cognitive-related brain areas preoperatively. Three months postoperatively, significant functional improvements were observed in the visual and cognitive-related brain areas of the patients. Six months postoperatively, the patients' grey matter volumes in these areas were significantly increased. Notably, both the function and structure in the visual and cognitive-related brain areas of the patients improved significantly and became comparable to those of the healthy controls 6 months postoperatively. Interpretation: We demonstrated that ocular reconstruction can functionally and structurally reverse cataract-induced brain changes. The integrity of the eye is essential for maintaining the structure and function of the brain within and beyond the primary visual pathway. Keywords: Brain plasticity, Vision restoration, Visual impairment, Age-related cataract

Abstract A decentralized battery energy storage system (DBESS) is used for stabilizing power fluctuation in DC microgrids. Different state of charge (SoC) among various battery energy storage units (BESU) during operation will reduce batteries’ service life. A hierarchical distributed control method is proposed in this paper for SoC balancing and power control according to dispatching center requirement in DBESS. A consensus algorithm with pinning node is employed to allocate power among BESUs in the secondary control whereas in the primary control, the local controller of BESU adjusts output power according to the reference power from secondary control. Part of BESUs are selected to be pinning node for accepting command from dispatching center while other BESUs as following nodes which exchange output power and SoC information with the adjacent nodes through communication network. After calculating reference power of each BESU by adopting consensus algorithm, the power sharing in DBESS is achieved according to their respective SoC of BESUs. Meanwhile, the total output power of DBESS follows the varying requirements of dispatching center. The stability of DBESS is also improved because of having no center controller. The feasibility of the proposed control strategy is validated by simulation results.

Abstract Background The aim of the present study was to identify the proteomic differences among human lenses in different physiopathological states and to screen for susceptibility genes/proteins via proteogenomic characterization. Methods The total proteomes identified across the regenerative lens with secondary cataract (RLSC), congenital cataract (CC) and age-related cataract (ARC) groups were compared to those of normal lenses using isobaric tagging for relative and absolute protein quantification (iTRAQ). The up-regulated proteins between the groups were subjected to biological analysis. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed to detect genetic variations. Results The most complete human lens proteome to date, which consisted of 1251 proteins, including 55.2% previously unreported proteins, was identified across the experimental groups. Bioinformatics functional annotation revealed the common involvement of cellular metabolic processes, immune responses and protein folding disturbances among the groups. RLSC-over-expressed proteins were characteristically enriched in the intracellular immunological signal transduction pathways. The CC groups featured biological processes relating to gene expression and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling transduction, whereas the molecular functions corresponding to external stress were specific to the ARC groups. Combined with WES, the proteogenomic characterization narrowed the list to 16 candidate causal molecules. Conclusions These findings revealed common final pathways with diverse upstream regulation of cataractogenesis in different physiopathological states. This proteogenomic characterization shows translational potential for detecting susceptibility genes/proteins in precision medicine.

Abstract Background To investigate the distribution of the height, weight and body mass index (BMI) of children with congenital cataracts (CC) before surgical treatment. Methods This prospective study included children with CC ≤14 years of age presenting at the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center from Jan. 2013 to Aug. 2016. The height, weight, and BMI measurements of all participating children were obtained and compared with the World Health Organization Child Growth Reference (WHO Reference), matched by age and gender. The presence of a family history of CC or complicated systemic diseases as well as parental education levels and family income were also recorded. Results In total, 595 children with CC were included. The mean age was 52.75 ± 33.99 months, and 34.29% (204/595) of them were unilateral cases. Among all of the children, 6.72% (40/595) of cases were complicated by systemic diseases. More than 1/5 (21.01%, 125/595) of the children had a family history of CC and exhibited bilateral involvement. Less than 1/4 (23.2) of the mothers were highly educated, and more than half of the families had a family income below the city average. Height, weight, and BMI measurements of most children with CC were within the normal ranges (±95% CI of the WHO Reference). Compared to the WHO Reference, both girls and boys aged 2–5 years revealed shorter heights, and the girls aged 5–14 years exhibited a shorter height, lower body weight and lower BMI. The heights of the children with CC and systemic diseases were also shorter than the WHO Reference. The children with CC who had a family history of disease had shorter heights and lower BMIs than children with CC but no family history, and the measurements of both groups were lower than the WHO Reference values. Conclusions The height, weight and BMI of most of the children with CC in this study were within the normal ranges of the WHO Reference. However, the children with CC and concomitant systemic diseases and those with a family history of CC had shorter heights and lower BMIs. This information aids in our understanding of the physical development of children with CC.

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an extremely clean and efficient power generation device. However, its limited lifespan has restricted the large-scale commercial development of PEMFCs. Life prediction is a promising solution for the further life extension of PEMFCs. In this paper, D-S ELM(DWT-SaDE ELM), define as, an enhanced extreme learning machine (ELM) optimized by discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and self-adaptive differential evolutionary algorithm (SaDE), is proposed to predict the remaining useful life (RUL) of PEMFCs. In D-S ELM, DWT is employed to extract available features from multi-input data with stochastic noise. Then, SaDE explores the optimal parameter configuration for the ELM neural network. Moreover, the influence of training data sizes on the prediction results is discussed. Simulations show that D-S ELM has obvious advantages in prediction accuracy. Furthermore, the superiority of D-S ELM in small sample applicability, prediction speed and robustness make it more suitable for the online prediction of PEMFCs.

Satellite orbit error and clock bias are the keys to precise point positioning (PPP). The traditional PPP algorithm requires precise satellite products based on worldwide permanent reference stations. Such an algorithm requires considerable work and hardly achieves real-time performance. However, real-time positioning service will be the dominant mode in the future. IGS is providing such an operational service (RTS) and there are also commercial systems like Trimble RTX in operation. On the basis of the regional Continuous Operational Reference System (CORS), a real-time PPP algorithm is proposed to apply the coupling estimation of clock bias and orbit error. The projection of orbit error onto the satellite-receiver range has the same effects on positioning accuracy with clock bias. Therefore, in satellite clock estimation, part of the orbit error can be absorbed by the clock bias and the effects of residual orbit error on positioning accuracy can be weakened by the evenly distributed satellite geometry. In consideration of the simple structure of pseudorange equations and the high precision of carrier-phase equations, the clock bias estimation method coupled with orbit error is also improved. Rovers obtain PPP results by receiving broadcast ephemeris and real-time satellite clock bias coupled with orbit error. By applying the proposed algorithm, the precise orbit products provided by GNSS analysis centers are rendered no longer necessary. On the basis of previous theoretical analysis, a real-time PPP system was developed. Some experiments were then designed to verify this algorithm. Experimental results show that the newly proposed approach performs better than the traditional PPP based on International GNSS Service (IGS) real-time products. The positioning accuracies of the rovers inside and outside the network are improved by 38.8% and 36.1%, respectively. The PPP convergence speeds are improved by up to 61.4% and 65.9%. The new approach can change the traditional PPP mode because of its advantages of independence, high positioning precision, and real-time performance. It could be an alternative solution for regional positioning service before global PPP service comes into operation.

Objectives To explore the characteristics of the low-income elderly who underwent free cataract surgery and to determine the degree of patient satisfaction with the free cataract surgery programme in urban China.Methods A free cataract surgery management workflow was designed as a poverty relief project in Guangzhou. In this study, participants who underwent free cataract surgery between January and August 2014 received a telephone interview based on a structured questionnaire. Data were collected on patient demographics, resources, health conditions, reasons for undergoing the free surgery and overall evaluation of the free cataract surgery programme.Results Among the 833 participants, the mean surgical age was 76.85±7.46 years (95% CI 76.34 to 77.36), and the male to female ratio was 385:448. The majority (94.31%, 746/791) of patients resided in the main urban districts. Patients underwent surgery 61.08±60.15 months (95% CI 56.17 to 66.00) after becoming aware of the cataract, although 66.83% of them reported that their daily lives were influenced by cataracts. Only 21.5% of the respondents underwent physical examinations that included regular eye screening, and only 6.30% were highly educated patients. Financial problems were the primary reason cited by patients for participating in the free surgery programme. Those patients with a monthly family income of 1000–2999¥ (US$161–482) per capita constituted the largest patient population. The free clinics in the parks and the free cataract surgery were highly rated (9.46 and 9.11 of 10 points) by the beneficiaries.Conclusions The telephone survey revealed a high level of patient satisfaction regarding the free cataract surgery programme. Most of the patients who participated in the programme resided in major urban districts and had poor health awareness and a low level of education. The information provided by this study is crucial for improving and expanding the management of free cataract surgery programmes.Trial registration number NCT02633865; Post-results.

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of lens epithelial cells (LECs) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of anterior subcapsular cataract (ASC) and capsule opacification. In mouse lens, Sprouty2 (Spry2) has a negative regulatory role on TGFβ signaling. However, the regulation of Spry2 during ASC development and how Spry2 modulates TGFβ signaling pathway in human LECs have not been characterized. Here, we demonstrate that Spry2 expression level is decreased in anterior capsule LECs of ASC patients. Spry2 negatively regulates TGFβ2-induced EMT and migration of LECs through inhibition of Smad2 and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Also, blockade of Smad2 or ERK1/2 activation suppresses EMT caused by Spry2 downregulation. Collectively, our results for the first time show in human LECs that Spry2 has an inhibitory role in TGFβ signaling pathway. Our findings in human lens tissue and epithelial cells suggest that Spry2 may become a novel therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of ASC and capsule opacification.