Nanodiamond Coating in Energy and Engineering Fields: Synthesis Methods, Characteristics, and Applications.

Nanodiamonds are metastable allotropes of carbon. Based on their high hardness, chemical inertness, high thermal conductivity, and wide bandgap, nanodiamonds are widely used in energy and engineering applications in the form of coatings, such as mechanical processing, nuclear engineering, semiconductors, etc., particularly focusing on the reinforcement in mechanical performance, corrosion resistance, heat transfer, and electrical behavior.

Wettability and Frictional Studies of PEEK Composites against Co-Cr Alloys with Surface Textures.

With the aim of promoting the qualities for total hip joint replacement, the wettability and tribological behaviors of PEEK composites pins with two sets of different fillers (PEEK/CF or PEEK/CF/PTFE/graphite) against Co-Cr alloy discs with five categories of surface textures (polished, orthogonal, spiral, r-θ, and orthogonal combined with spiral) were explored. It is revealed that the existence of CF in PEEK matrix increases the hydrophilicity in addition to the strength of PEEK, while the addition of PTFE increases the hydrophobicity of PEEK. The Co-Cr alloy discs with hydrophilic properties can be adjusted as hydrophobic, with the depth of textured grooves exceeding the critical sag height determined by the contact angle and the groove width.

TMT proteomics analysis of cerebrospinal fluid from patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

CVST is a type of venous stroke that mainly affects young adults with no reliable diagnostic markers and effective treatment strategies for secondary pathologies. However, the underlying pathological molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we systematically analyzed the molecule profiling of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in CVST patients via tandem mass tag (TMT)-based proteomics for the first time, aiming to reveal the pathogenesis and provide evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of CVST.

Material Removal Capability and Profile Quality Assessment on Silicon Carbide Micropillar Fabrication with a Femtosecond Laser.

Silicon carbide (SiC) has a variety of applications because of its favorable chemical stability and outstanding physical characteristics, such as high hardness and high rigidity. In this study, a femtosecond laser with a spiral scanning radial offset of 5 μm and a spot radius of 6 μm is utilized to process micropillars on a SiC plate. The influence of pulsed laser beam energies and laser translation velocities on the micropillar profiles, dimensions, surface roughness a, and material removal capability (MRC) of micropillars was investigated.

Tribological Properties of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced PEEK against 304 Stainless Steel with Reticulate Surface Texture.

With the aim of improving the durability and reliability of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) composites reinforced with carbon fiber (CF) as thrust bearings without lubricants, a reticulate surface texture was fabricated by plane honing on a stainless steel (SS) counterpart to promote its tribological properties. Pin-on-disk experiments were designed, with the results showing that the reticulate surface texture effectively reduces the friction coefficient from 0.40 to 0.

Efficiency and Complication of 577-nm Laser Membranotomy for the Treatment of Retinal Sub-Inner Limiting Membrane Hemorrhage.

Objective: We investigated the clinical efficiency and complications of treatment of retinal sub-inner limiting membrane (sub-ILM) hemorrhage by 577-nm semiconductive laser membranotomy.

Methods: The clinical features, ocular fundus photography, and SD-OCT image of patients who received 577-nm laser membranotomy for sub-ILM hemorrhage were assessed from January 2017 to April 2022 in this retrospective case-series study.

Results: A total of 19 patients (19 eyes) were treated for sub-ILM hemorrhage of the macula, in which eight were women and 11 were men.

Activating cGAS-STING axis contributes to neuroinflammation in CVST mouse model and induces inflammasome activation and microglia pyroptosis.

Background: Neuroinflammation-induced injury is intimately associated with poor prognosis in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon gene (cGAS-STING) axis is a cytoplasmic double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) sensing pathway has recently emerged as a crucial mediator of neuroinflammation in ischemic stroke. However, the role of the cGAS-STING pathway in modulating post-CVST inflammation and the underlying mechanisms involved remain unclear.

Refractive Lens Exchange Surgery in Early-Onset High Myopia Patients With Partial Cataract.

Purpose: By reporting clinical characteristics and retinal image quality before and after refractive lens replacement surgery in early-onset high myopia (eoHM) patients presenting with partial cataract, we emphasized the need for an objective way to grade the severity of partial cataracts.

Methods: This retrospective, consecutive case series included six Chinese patients (nine eyes). Analysis of previous medical records, visual acuity, optometry, retinal image quality, and axial length (AXL) before surgery and after surgery was performed.

Processing and Profile Control of Microhole Array for PDMS Mask with Femtosecond Laser.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is hailed as one of the foundational materials that have been applied to different products in various fields because of its chemical resistance, low cost, excellent flexibility, and high molding capability. With the aim to achieve surface texture with high efficiency by means of electrochemical micromachining with PDMS mask, a femtosecond laser is utilized to process a precision array of micro-through-holes on PDMS films as the molds. The ablation process of PDMS with a femtosecond laser was investigated via numerical simulation verified with experiments indicating a laser energy density of 4.

Homing peptide combined with DNAzyme-based ELISA-like assay for highly specific and sensitive detection of fibrin.

A highly sensitive and specific ELISA-like chemiluminescence method for detection of fibrin has been developed. In the sensing platform, the homing peptide (CREKA), as recognition molecule, which can specially recognize the fibrin on microtiter plate, combined with G-quadruplex-based DNAzyme to form the probe of G-quadruplex-hemin DNAzyme-CREKA. After the sample solution was coated on the plates, the probe was crosslinked with fibrin through the interaction of CREKA and fibrin.

An Association between Inflammation and Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: Evidence is currently accumulating for the role of inflammation in cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte/high-density lipoprotein ratio (MHR), and systematic immune-inflammation index (SII) are easily obtainable indicators of systemic inflammations. However, there were few studies on the relationship between them and CVT.

Peripheral arterial filling time and peripheral retina fluorescence features in ultra-widefield angiography.

Aim: To evaluate the peripheral arterial filling time (PAFT) and venous filling time (VFT) in eyes without known diseases that may influence filling process using ultra-widefield (UWF) fluorescein angiography (FA), and to review the peripheral retina fluorescence features.

Methods: A total of 30 eyes of 30 patients were retrospectively reviewed in this observational study. UWF-FA was performed using Optos 200Tx.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress contribute to neuronal pyroptosis caused by cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in rats: Involvement of TXNIP/peroxynitrite-NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare type of stroke, which is life-threatening in severe cases. However, considerably less attention has been concentrated on the mechanism of neural cell damage after CVST. This study aims to investigate the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative stress, and pyroptosis in a well-established rodent model of CVST.

Analysis of related factors of optical quality in healthy Chinese adults: a community-based population study.

Background: In recent years, visual quality has been extensively investigated in various conditions. In this community-based population study, we analyzed the effects of aging, refraction, and Lens Opacification Classification System III (LOCSIII) score on retinal imaging quality in healthy Chinese adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on sub-group subjects from The Handan Eye Study between October 2012 and January 2013.

Repeatability and agreement of two anterior segment OCT in myopic patients before implantable collamer lenses implantation.

Aim: To evaluate the intra-operator repeatability of time domain and swept-source Fourier domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), namely, Visante AS-OCT and Casia SS-1000 OCT, in measuring the preoperative parameters of implantable collamer lens (ICL) in myopic eyes, as well as the agreement between the two devices.

Methods: A total of 97 eyes from 49 myopes were investigated in this prospective case series study. The anterior chamber depth (ACD), angle-to-angle distance (ATA), pupil diameter (PD) and crystalline lens rise (CLR) in all subjects were measured for three times during one session by the same operator.

Macular retinal thickness and flow density change by optical coherence tomography angiography after posterior scleral reinforcement.

Optical coherence tomography angiography (Angio-OCT) has introduced a new non-invasive, quantitative method to assess superficial and deep capillary networks of the retina. In this study, we investigated macular retinal thickness and flow density change following posterior scleral reinforcement (PSR) surgery, using an RTVue XR Avanti Angio-OCT (A2016.2.

Diagnostic ability of ganglion cell complex thickness to detect glaucoma in high myopia eyes by Fourier domain optical coherence tomography.

Aim: To evaluate the ability of macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness using Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) to detect glaucoma in highly myopic eyes.

Methods: Cross-sectional study. A total of 114 participants, consecutively were enrolled.

Advanced oxidation protein products promote NADPH oxidase-dependent β-cell destruction and dysfunction through the Bcl-2/Bax apoptotic pathway.

The accumulation of plasma advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) has been linked with diverse disorders, including diabetes, chronic kidney disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pathophysiological relevance of AOPPs in β-cell destruction and dysfunction. Exposure of cultured rat β-cells (INS-1) to AOPPs induced an increase in Bax expression, caspase-3 activity, and apoptosis as well as a decrease in Bcl-2 expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner.

Comparison of time-domain, spectral-domain and swept-source OCT in evaluating aqueous cells in vitro.

Different optical coherence tomography (OCT), both time-domain OCT and spectral-domain OCT, has been used to evaluate anterior chamber cells in previous studies. Recently, commercial swept-source OCT was available. The comparison among three kinds of OCTs have not been done before.

Microcatheter-assisted trabeculotomy versus rigid probe trabeculotomy in childhood glaucoma.

Purpose: To compare microcatheter-assisted trabeculotomy with standard rigid probe trabeculotomy for the treatment of childhood glaucoma.

Methods: The early postoperative (12 months) results of microcatheter-assisted trabeculotomy (group 1) performed by single surgeon were retrospectively compared with those of rigid probe trabeculotomy (group 2) performed by the same surgeon in patients treated for childhood glaucoma. Success was defined as an intraocular pressure (IOP) <21 mm Hg with at least a 30% reduction from preoperative IOP with (qualified success) or without (complete success) the use of anti-glaucoma medication.

Marine fungal metabolite 1386A alters the microRNA profile in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Marine fungal metabolite 1386A is a newly identified small molecular compound extracted from the mangrove fungus 1386A in the South China Sea. Preliminary experiments have demonstrated its amazing cytotoxity to cancer cells, while the mechanism remains poorly understood. microRNAs (miRNAs) are a newly identified class of small regulatory RNAs which play an important role in gene regulation at the post-transcriptional level.