ScLNet: A cornea with scleral lens OCT layers segmentation dataset and new multi-task model.

Objective: To develop deep learning methods with high accuracy for segmenting irregular corneas and detecting the tear fluid reservoir (TFR) boundary under the scleral lens. Additionally, this study aims to provide a publicly available cornea with scleral lens OCT dataset, including manually labeled layer masks for training and validation of segmentation algorithms. This study introduces ScLNet, a dataset comprising cornea with Scleral Lens (ScL) optical coherence tomography (OCT) images with layer annotations, and a multi-task network designed to achieve rapid, accurate, automated segmentation of scleral lens with regular and irregular corneas.

Settling characteristics of scleral lenses in Chinese adults with refractive error.

Purpose: To investigate the settling characteristics of a scleral lens in Chinese adults with refractive error and to provide guidance for its clinical application.

Methods: A total of 21 healthy Chinese adults (27.2 ± 4.

Boronic acid-modified bacterial cellulose microspheres as packing materials for enveloped virus removal.

Viruses are the most abundant microorganisms on the earth, their existence in contaminated waters possesses a significant threat to humans. Waterborne viral infections could be fatal to sensitive population including young child, the elderly, and the immune-compromised. It is imperative to remove viruses during water treatment to better protect public health, especially in the light of evidence of detection of coronaviruses genetic fragments in raw sewage.

IMPACT OF PENETRATION AND IMAGE ANALYSIS IN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ON THE MEASUREMENT OF CHOROIDAL VASCULARITY PARAMETERS.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of penetration and image analysis in different optical coherence tomography (OCT) instruments on the measurement of choroidal vascularity parameters.

Methods: Twenty-three healthy volunteers were imaged using two swept-source OCTs and one spectral-domain OCT. A fully automatic segmentation method based on ResNet-UNet and Niblack local threshold binarization was performed to quantify the relevant choroidal vascular parameters, including choroidal vascularity index, total choroidal volume, and luminal volume.

Synthesis of Multisubstituted Allylic Alcohols via a Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Electrophile Ring-Opening Reaction.

Herein we report a nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile ring-opening reaction of vinyl epoxides wherein aryl iodides, alkyl iodides, and benzyl chlorides can all serve as the electrophilic coupling partners, providing a new approach to preparing multisubstituted allylic alcohols. This new method features broad substrate scope (76 examples), good step-economy, and high L/B- and / selectivity as well as mild reaction conditions.

Recyclable aminophenylboronic acid modified bacterial cellulose microspheres for tetracycline removal: Kinetic, equilibrium and adsorption performance studies for hoggery sewer.

Significant concerns have been raised regarding to the pollution of antibiotics in recent years due to the abuse of antibiotics and their high detection rate in water. Herein, a novel super adsorbent, boronic acid-modified bacterial cellulose microspheres with a size of 415 μm in diameter was prepared through a facile water-in-oil emulsion method. The adsorbent was characterized by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses to confirm its properties.

Iron-Catalyzed Allylic Defluorinative Ketone Olefin Coupling.

In this protocol, we demonstrate our discovery that iron is able to efficiently catalyze the reductive allylic defluorinative ketyl olefin coupling reaction between α-trifluoromethyl alkenes and unactivated ketones. This operationally simple cross-electrophile reaction circumvents the use of pre-generated organometallics and allows for the synthesis of diverse functional-group-rich tertiary -difluorohomoallylic alcohols through a polarity-reversed strategy. Preliminary mechanistic studies support a mechanism that proceeds through a ketyl formation/olefin insertion/β-fluoro elimination sequence.

Enhancing circularly polarized XUV vortices from bicircular Laguerre-Gaussian fields.

In this work, we theoretically study the generation of circularly polarized XUV vortices from high harmonic generation driven by bicircular Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) fields with different frequency ratios, by using the strong-field approximation theory. Our simulation shows that the amplitude of the generated vortices from the ω-3ω bicircular LG field is about one order of magnitude larger than that from the ω-2ω field, irrespective of the harmonic order and the orbital angular momentum of the bicircular driving fields. Our analysis shows that the great increase of the vortex amplitude for the ω-3ω field originates from the harmonic enhancement of a single atom.

Nickel-Catalyzed Allylic Defluorinative Cross-Electrophile Coupling with Cycloalkyl Silyl Peroxides as the Alkyl Source.

Herein we demonstrate the first successful application of cycloalkyl silyl peroxides (CSP) as an electrophilic coupling partner in the cross-electrophile coupling reaction. Diverse CSP are efficiently cross-coupled with an array of α-trifluoromethyl alkenes under the catalysis of nickel with the assistance of zinc as the reducing agent. This method allows the use of unstrained CSP as the carbonyl-containing alkyl source in the allylic defluorinative reaction, to access a variety of -difluoroalkenes bearing a pendent ketone moiety with high functionality tolerance.

Visual acuity is correlated with ischemia and neurodegeneration in patients with early stages of diabetic retinopathy.

Purpose: We investigated the effects of retinal ischemia, neurodegeneration, and subclinical edema on best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: Ischemia was evaluated by the microvascular parameters measured by optical coherence tomography angiography. Neurodegeneration and subclinical edema were identified by the intraretinal layer thickness obtained by optical coherence tomography.

Acyclovir inhibits white spot syndrome virus replication in crayfish Procambarus clarkii.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a fatal pathogen threatening global crustacean industry with no commercially available drugs to control WSSV. To address the urgent need for finding effective antiviral agents against WSSV, we examined the anti-WSSV activities of 11 common antiviral agents in crayfish Procambarus clarkia. The results showed that acyclovir displayed the highest inhibition on WSSV replication in vivo (92.

Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Microcapsule-Based Self-Healing Cementitious Composites.

Self-healing concrete designs can protect against deterioration and improve durability. However, there is no unified conclusion regarding the effective preparation and mechanical properties of self-healing concrete. In this paper, microcapsules are used in cement-based materials, the reasonable dosage of microcapsules is determined, and the self-healing performance of the microcapsule self-healing system under different curing agents is explored.

Influencing Factors on the Healing Performance of Microcapsule Self-Healing Concrete.

The amounts of the components in a microcapsule self-healing system significantly impact the basic performance and self-healing performance of concrete. In this paper, an orthogonal experimental design is used to investigate the healing performance of microcapsule self-healing concrete under different pre-damage loads. The strength recovery performance and sound speed recovery performance under extensive damage are analyzed.

Chromium-Catalyzed Allylic Defluorinative Ketyl Olefin Coupling.

Herein we report a chromium-catalyzed allylic defluorinative ketyl olefin coupling between aldehydes and α-trifluoromethyl alkenes, which provides novel and efficient access to diverse -difluorohomoallylic alcohols. Remarkably, the high chemoselectivity of this reaction enables the conversion of the formyl moiety in the presence of various easily reducible functionalities including ketone, organohalides, aziridine, sulfone, alkyne, and unactivated alkene. The utility of this method is demonstrated by various simple derivatizations of the attached hydroxyl group of the coupling products.

Nickel-catalyzed asymmetric reductive aryl-allylation of unactivated alkenes.

Herein we report a nickel-catalyzed asymmetric reductive aryl-allylation of aryl iodide-tethered unactivated alkenes, wherein both acyclic allyl carbonates and cyclic vinyl ethylene carbonates can serve as the coupling partners. Furthermore, the direct use of allylic alcohols as the electrophilic allyl source in this reaction is also viable in the presence of BOC anhydride. Remarkably, this reaction proceeds with high linear/branched-, /- and enantio-selectivity, allowing the synthesis of various chiral indanes and dihydrobenzofurans (50 examples) containing a homoallyl-substituted quaternary stereocenter with high optical purity (90-98% ).

Serum Irisin Levels and Clinical Implication in Elderly Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the level and role of serum irisin in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using case-control study.

Methods: A total of 71 patients with T2DM were selected as the case group according to the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria; and the ratio of 1:1 was calculated according to the inclusion rate of the residents. The cohort established in Guankou Town, Jimei District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China and the residents of this cohort were selected at the age of 60 and above.

Merger of C-F and C-N Bond Cleavage in Cross-Electrophile Coupling for the Synthesis of -Difluoroalkenes.

Herein we successfully applied Katritzky salts as the alkyl electrophile in the reductive allylic defluorinative cross-coupling reaction with α-trifluoromethyl alkenes. The merger of C-F and C-N bond cleavage via the synergistic effect of nickel and zinc allows the efficient synthesis of diverse -difluoroalkenes with a good tolerance for various functional groups.

Photocatalytic hydroacylation of trifluoromethyl alkenes.

Hydrofunctionalization of trifluoromethyl alkenes is highly challenging, because the nucleophilic addition is oftentimes followed by β-F elimination in this case. By the use of tetrabutylammonium decatungstate (TBADT) as a hydrogen-atom-transfer (HAT) photocatalyst for acyl C-H activation, we successfully avoid the β-F elimination in the hydroacylation of trifluoromethyl alkenes with aldehydes. This light (390 nm) promoted reaction provides a facile and efficient access to various β-CF3 ketones in complete regiocontrol with high functionality tolerance and 100% atom economy.

Reductive Allylic Defluorinative Cross-Coupling Enabled by Ni/Ti Cooperative Catalysis.

Unactivated alkyl chlorides are abundant building blocks in organic synthesis, but they have been rarely engaged in cross-electrophile coupling. Herein, we report a Ni/Ti-cocatalyzed reductive allylic defluorinative cross-coupling between trifluoromethyl alkenes and unactivated alkyl chlorides and bromides, enabling the efficient preparation of diverse functional-group-rich -difluoroalkenes. Notably, synthesis of the -difluoroalkene analogues of azaperone, haloperidol, and benperidol was also accomplished using our method as a key step.

Evaluation of a Novel Bony Landmark-Based Method for Teaching Percutaneous Insertion of Subclavian Venous Catheters in Pediatric Patients.

Background: Surgical trainees performing subclavian vein (SCV) cannulation often incorrectly perceive needle trajectory and anatomical relations. As surface landmark-based methods derived from adult surgical practice may be less effective in younger patients, we developed and evaluated a novel bony landmark-based method for teaching SCV cannulation for central venous access device (CVAD) placement in children.

Methods: Over 2 sequential 3-year periods, pediatric surgical trainees were taught infraclavicular SCV cannulation via surface- and bony-landmark approaches, respectively.

Synthesis of gem-Difluoroalkenes by Merging Ni-Catalyzed C-F and C-C Bond Activation in Cross-Electrophile Coupling.

By merging C-F and C-C bond activation in the cross-electrophile coupling, we developed an efficient cyanide-free synthesis of diverse functional-group-rich cyano-substituted gem-difluoroalkenes using cyclobutanone oxime esters and trifluoromethyl alkenes as precursors. Notably, this Ni-catalyzed reaction is bestowed with broad substrate scope, low catalyst loading, complete regioselectivities, and high tolerance of a wide range of sensitive functional groups. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that an iminyl radical-initiated C-C bond cleavage is involved in the reaction pathway.

Multi-view registration of unordered range scans by fast correspondence propagation of multi-scale descriptors.

This paper proposes a global approach for the multi-view registration of unordered range scans. Our method starts with the pair-wise registration, where multi-scale descriptor is selected for feature point and the propagation of feature correspondence is accordingly accelerated. Subsequently, we design an effective rule to judge the reliability of these pair-wise registration results.

Capacity Increase Investigation of CuSe Electrode by Using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy.

CuSe nanoflake arrays supported by Cu foams are synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method in this study. The CuSe materials are directly used as an anode for lithium ion batteries, which show superior cycle performance with significant capacity increase. Combining with previous reports and scanning electron microscope images after cycling, the capacity increase caused by the reversible growth of a polymeric film is discussed.