Dry eye disease is a chronic ocular surface disorder of multifactorial origin, characterized by a loss of tear film homeostasis and associated with a range of ocular discomfort symptoms. Growing evidence underscores a significant bidirectional relationship between dry eye and depression: individuals with dry eye disease exhibit a higher prevalence of depressive disorders, and conversely, those diagnosed with depression demonstrate an increased susceptibility to developing dry eye. This interplay is mediated through several pathophysiological pathways, such as chronic inflammation, cerebral functional alterations, gut microbiome dysregulation, and sleep disturbances, which may collectively sustain a vicious cycle. The use of antidepressant therapy introduces further complexity, exerting heterogeneous effects on dry eye—some agents may offer symptomatic relief, whereas others can aggravate ocular surface impairment. The mechanisms responsible for these differential outcomes remain incompletely elucidated and merit further investigation. This review systematically consolidates epidemiological data on the dry eye-depression link, examines potential shared pathological mechanisms, and evaluates current therapeutic options. We propose an integrated management approach that combines conventional dry eye treatments, such as traditional Chinese medicine, electroacupuncture, physical activity and antidepressants—a multimodal strategy that may yield synergistic benefits in alleviating both ocular and affective symptoms, thereby improving overall quality of life. Moving forward, research should focus on deciphering the underlying mechanistic pathways and facilitating the translation of these insights into clinical practice to inform targeted, combined treatment regimens for patients with dry eye and depression.

ObjectiveThe widespread adoption of portable fundus cameras for primary care and community screening is hindered by limitations in current autofocus(AF) technologies. Image-based methods relying on sharpness evaluation require iterative searches, resulting in slow convergence, while projection-based techniques are susceptible to optical artifacts and calibration errors. To address these challenges, this study introduces a novel AF system based on direct wavefront sensing, designed to deliver simultaneous high speed, high precision, and operational robustness within the compact form factor essential for portable ophthalmic devices. MethodsOur approach fundamentally reimagines the AF process by directly measuring the ocular wavefront aberration. We developed a custom portable fundus camera integrating a miniaturized Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS) into the optical path. An 850 nm laser diode projects a point source onto the retina via oblique illumination to minimize corneal reflections. Light scattered from this spot carries the eye’s refractive error through the imaging optics and is directed to the SHWS, positioned at a plane optically conjugate to the primary color CMOS imaging sensor. A microlens array within the SHWS samples the incident wavefront, generating a pattern of focal spots on a CCD. Real-time centroid analysis of these spots provides a map of local wavefront slopes. These measurements are processed through a singular value decomposition (SVD) algorithm to fit a Zernike polynomial basis set, enabling real-time reconstruction of the wavefront phase. The defocus component (S) is extracted from the second-order Zernike coefficients, providing a direct, quantitative measure of the refractive error in diopters. This value serves as a precise error signal in a closed-loop control system, which commands a voice-coil actuated focusing lens to its null position in a single, deterministic step, eliminating the need for iterative search algorithms. ResultsComprehensive evaluation demonstrated the system’s high performance. Testing on a calibrated model eye (OEMI-7) established a highly linear relationship between the computed defocus S and the focusing lens position across a ±20 Diopter (D) compensation range, achievable within a 5 mm mechanical travel. The system achieved a focusing precision of 0.08 D, corresponding to an 18-fold improvement over a conventional projection spot-size method tested under identical conditions. The total focus acquisition time, encompassing wavefront measurement, computation, and lens actuation, averaged under 0.5 s. Clinical validation with 25 human volunteers (50 eyes, refractive range -15 D to +10 D) confirmed practical efficacy. The wavefront-sensing AF succeeded in 92% of attempts with a mean time of 0.5 s, substantially outperforming a projection-based benchmark which achieved only a 32% success rate with an average time of 4.25 s. The system provided instantaneous directional guidance and maintained stability during minor ocular movements. Objective assessment of image quality, via amplitude contrast of retinal vasculature, showed consistent and significant enhancement following AF correction across the entire tested diopter range. ConclusionThis work successfully implements and validates a direct wavefront-sensing autofocus paradigm for portable fundus cameras. By directly quantifying and compensating for the optical defocus aberration, this method bypasses the fundamental limitations of image-processing and projection-based techniques, enabling rapid, precise, and deterministic diopter compensation. The developed system delivers an exceptional combination of a wide operational range (±20 D), high accuracy (0.08 D), fast convergence (0.5 s), and a compact physical footprint. This technology provides a practical and high-performance focusing solution capable of enhancing the reliability, throughput, and diagnostic utility of portable retinal imaging in large-scale screening applications. Future efforts will be directed towards system cost optimization and performance adaptation for diverse ocular conditions.

ObjectiveThis study aims to improve the management efficiency of zebrafish strains and zebrafish facilities and to transform the traditional management model that relies on manual labor. The goal is to promote a comprehensive transition from traditional manual operation to standardized, digitalized, automated, and refined management, thereby significantly improving management quality and work efficiency. MethodsThe research group independently developed the "Zebrafish Facility and Zebrafish Strain Automation Management System V1.0" (Software Copyright Registration No. 2021SR0236837), which comprehensively recorded all operational data of the zebrafish facilities and completed data on zebrafish strains. By combining in-depth mining of these data with management experience, management regulations were transformed into executable system instruction sets, and a full-process automated closed-loop management framework of "Monitoring–Analysis–Early Warning–Task Assignment–Execution–Recording" was established. ResultsThis management system has been operating stably for 5 years and has been successfully applied in 3 zebrafish facilities, cumulatively supporting 78 researchers and efficiently managing 1 108 plasmids and 1 123 zebrafish strains, among which 291 strains has been incorporated into zebrafish sperm bank management. A Likert scale survey of 28 core users covering 14 evaluation dimensions across 4 major categories showed average scores of 4.46–4.89, all far above the midpoint (3 points) of the scale, indicating that users gave high evaluations to all dimensions of the system. Meanwhile, the standard deviations of most dimensions were low (s ≤ 0.44), reflecting good consistency in user evaluations. ConclusionThis study integrates information technology, big data analysis, and modern management concepts to achieve a virtuous cycle of "data collection–analysis and execution–system optimization" in zebrafish facility management. It significantly improves management efficiency and refinement and promotes the development of management models toward automation.

Objective To gain insights into the biological characteristics of different populations of Culex tritaeniorhynchus within and around the Yellow Sea wetland from the perspective of the occurrence of resistance, we investigated the levels of resistance to deltamethrin and kdr gene mutation in the wetland and its peripheral areas. Methods Specimens were collected from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus populations at two monitoring sites in the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area, and also from two populations in Yancheng City and the Liuhe District of Nanjing, and the resistance of these mosquitoes to deltamethrin was determined using the CDC biotest bottle method. For each concentration of deltamethrin assessed, a random subset of exposed specimens was selected for amplification of the kdr gene fragment, followed by Sanger sequencing to identify and analyze resistance-associated mutations. Results The LC50 levels of deltamethrin among mosquitoes from the four populations in Luhe, Yancheng, the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and the Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area were 2.048 5, 7.798 2, 3.473 3, and 17.695 5 mg/mL, respectively, with corresponding concentrations of deltamethrin ranging from 0.005 to 5.000,0.050 to 50.000,0.050 to 25.000 and 0.050 to 50.000 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the ranges of the KT50 values were 11.76-107.43, 67.05-216.30,29.77-107.43 and 28.40-329.51 min; the 1-h knockdown rates were 34.58%-99.15%, 9.52%-43.80%, 55.09%-73.01%, and 10.09%-68.07%; and the 24-h mortality rates were 12.15%-67.52%,9.52%-79.56%,13.17%-82.21%, and 11.01%-78.99%, respectively. With respect to kdr gene mutation, we assayed a total of 63,70,59, and 57 mosquitoes for the four populations, for which we detected L1014F mutation frequencies of 14.29%, 35.00%, 20.34%, and 31.58%, respectively, with a majority of these mutations being heterozygous for resistance. In addition, five adult mosquitoes were identified has having synonymous mutations at site 1011[i. e. , AAT(asparagine)mutation to AAC(asparagine)]. Conclusions Our findings revealed the clear resistance of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus to deltamethrin in the Yancheng region of the Yellow Sea wetland, and the resistance phenotype and kdr frequency of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment were comparable to those of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment, thereby indicating that the resistance of different populations of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was homogeneous under the pressure of different insecticide selection within and around the wetland. However, the underlying mechanisms need to be further studied.

OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical characteristics of the nontuberculous Mycobacteria pulmonary dis-ease(NTMPD)patients with previous pulmonary tuberculosis(PPTB)and analyze the clinical difference from the recurrence of pulmonary tuberculosis.METHODS By means of retrospective survey,the patients who were diag-nosed with NTMPD and recurrent pulmonary tuberculosis in Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital from Mar.2021 to Oct.2023 were recruited as the research subjects,a total of 395 patients with NTMPD were enrolled in the study and were divided into the PPTB-NTMPD group with 92 cases and the NPPTB-NTMPD group with 303 cases according to the history of PPTB.The baseline data,clinical symptoms,imaging findings,underlying diseases,pulmonary diseases,and species of nontuberculous Mycobacteria(NTM)were observed and compared.Totally 92 patients with recurrent pulmonary tuberculosis were randomly screened and assigned as the recurrent pulmonary tuberculo-sis group in a 1:1 ratio by matching the PPTB-NTMPD group with the gender and age.The major clinical charac-teristics were compared between the two groups.The 92 patients with PPTB-NTMPD were divided into the 1-10 years group with 40 cases,the 10-30 years group with 37 cases,and the more than 30 years group with 15 cases according to the interval between the initial diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis and the diagnosis of NTMPD.The major clinical characteristics were compared among the groups.RESULTS The age was(64.21±10.71)years old in the PPTB-NTMPD group,(60.26±11.83)years old in the NPPTB-NTMPD group(t=3.020,P=0.003).The proportion of patients with body mass index less than 18.5 kg/m2 was 59.78％in the PPTB-NTMPD group,41.25％in the NPPTB-NTMPD group(x2=6.155,P=0.013);the proportion of patients with cough was 77.17％in the PPTB-NTMPD group,65.68％in the NPPTB-NTMPD group(x2=4.313,P=0.038);the inci-dence of cavitary shadow was 50.00％in the PPTB-NTMPD group,35.31％in the NPPTB-NTMPD group(x2=6.414,P=0.011);the incidence of emphysema and pulmonary bullae was 29.35％in the PPTB-NTMPD group,12.87％in the NPPTB-NTMPD group(x2=13.766,P＜0.001);the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)was 22.83％in the PPTB-NTMPD group,14.19％in the NPPTB-NTMPD group(x2=3.875,P=0.049);the incidence of damaged lung was 9.78％in the PPTB-NTMPD group,2.97％in the NPPTB-NT-MPD group(x2=7.530,P=0.014);there were significant differences.Mycobacterium intracellulare and Myco-bacterium abscessus were the predominant species of NTM in both the PPTB-NTMPD group and the NPPTB-NT-MPD group,there was no significant difference in the distribution of NTM species between the two groups of pa-tients.The incidence of patch shadow of the PPTB-NTMPD group was lower than that of the recurrent pulmonary tuberculosis group(P＜0.05),the incidence of bronchiectatic shadow of the PPTB-NTMPD group was higher than that of the recurrent pulmonary tuberculosis group(P＜0.05).There were significant differences in the age,incidence of pleural thickening and incidence of COPD among the patients with different time intervals between ini-tial diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis and the diagnosis of NTMPD in the PPTB-NTMPD group(P＜0.05).CONCLUSIONS The previous pulmonary tuberculosis mainly affect the body mass index less than 18.5 kg/m2 and the post-tuberculosis pulmonary diseases such as cough,pulmonary cavity,emphysema,pulmonary bullae,COPD and damaged lung of the NTMPD patients.The NTMPD patients with previous pulmonary tuberculosis are more likely to have bronchiectasia than the patients with recurrent tuberculosis.It is necessary for the clinicians to attach great importance.

Objective:To analyze the expression of serum lysyl oxidase like protein 4(LOXL4)and protein tyrosine phosphatase non receptor type 3(PTPN3)in patients with colorectal cancer and their relationship with postoperative liver metastasis.Methods:Totally 137 patients with colorectal cancer who visited Qingdao Central Hospital,University of Health and Rehabilitation Science from April 2017 to December 2019 were recruited as the cancer group.Complying with whether liver metastasis occurred during the follow-up period of 5 years,the patients were classified into the liver metastasis group(27 cases)and the non liver metastasis group(110 cases).Another 137 healthy individuals who underwent physical check ups were recruited as the control group.The qRT-PCR method was used to detect the ex-pression levels of serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs.The serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs were compared under dif-ferent clinical pathological data,and the pathological data of liver metastasis group and non liver metastasis group were compared.Cox regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of postoperative liver metastasis in pa-tients with colorectal cancer.ROC curve was used to explore the predictive value of serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 for postoperative liver metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer.Results:Compared with the control group,the can-cer group had higher levels of serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs expression(P<0.05).Compared with patients with medium to high differentiation,infiltration depth≤1/2 muscle layer,and TNM stage I-II,patients with low differentia-tion,infiltration depth>1/2 muscle layer,and TNM stage III had higher levels of serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs ex-pression(P<0.05).Compared with the non liver metastasis group,the liver metastasis group had higher levels of se-rum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs expression(P<0.05).High expression of serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs were risk factors for liver metastasis after colorectal cancer surgery(P<0.05).Compared with the single prediction of serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs,the AUC of serum LOXL4 combined with PTPN3 in predicting postoperative liver metasta-sis in colorectal cancer patients was higher(P<0.05).Conclusion:Serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs expression lev-els are abnormally elevated in patients with colorectal cancer,which is related to the deterioration of pathological data such as differentiation degree,infiltration depth,and TNM staging.Elevated serum LOXL4 and PTPN3 mRNAs expres-sion levels may increase the risk of postoperative liver metastasis in patients,and the combination has higher predic-tive value for postoperative liver metastasis.

Objective To systematically summarize medication patterns and explore the potential mechanisms of core herbal combinations in treating chronic glomerulonephritis(CGN)based on data mining and network pharmacology,and to provide a reference for clinical treatment strategies.Methods Electronic book databases were searched to screen the CGN prescription from the works of contemporary Xin'an medical practitioners.Frequency statistics,association rule analysis,and clustering algorithms via the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)Inheritance Support Platform V3.5 were applied to identify high-frequency herbs(frequency of use>10%)and core combinations.Active ingredients and potential targets were predicted using TCMSP,PubChem,and SwissTargetPrediction databases.Disease-related targets were retrieved from OMIM and GeneCards,after obtaining the intersecting targets,followed by protein-protein interaction(PPI)network construction(STRING platform),Cytoscape topological analysis,and GO and KEGG pathway enrichment(DAVID).Results A total of 151 prescriptions related to the treatment of CGN were included,involving 213 flavours of TCM,including 42 varites of high frequency drugs,mainly in the categories of supplementing deficiency,eliminating dampness and diuresis and clearing heat.Theherb properties were mainly cold,warm,and neutral,with flavors of sweet,bitter,and pungent.Herbs primarily targeted the liver,lung,kidney,and spleen meridians.Thecore combination"Astragali Radix,Dioscorea Rhizome,Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma,Imperata Rhizome,Pyrrosiae Folium,Poria"was identified,with key active ingredients including quercetin,stigmasterol,and β-sitosterol.Core targets involved IL6,EGFR,TNF,AKT1,and PIK3CA,while enriched pathways included PI3K-Akt and AGE-RAGE signaling.Conclusion Contemporary Xin'an practitioners primarily treat CGN by tonifying the spleen,nourishing the kidney,and clearing damp-heat.Thecore herbal combination exerts synergistic effects through multi-target intervention in immune-inflammatory pathways,oxidative stress,and fibrotic pathways,highlighting the holistic therapeutic advantages of TCM formulas via multi-component synergistic regulation and multi-target interactions.This study provides a theoretical foundation for further experimental validation and clinical applications.

Aim To investigate the im-munomodulatory effects of Ononin on Th17/Treg bal-ance and inflammatory responses,and to evaluate its neuroinmune regulatory role in ischemic stroke.Methods A Foxp3 promoter-driven luciferase reporter assay was used to assess the effect of Ononin on Foxp3 transcriptional activity.The effect of Ononin on the dif-ferentiation of na?ve CD4+T cells into Th 17 and Treg subsets was evaluated by flow cytometry.A transient middle cerebral artery occlusion(tMCAO)model was established in mice to evaluate the effects of Ononin on infarct size,neurological recovery,body weight resto-ration,and survival rate.Flow cytometry and RT-PCR were conducted to elucidate the immunological mechanisms underlying Ononin's effects.Results On-onin significantly enhanced Foxp3 promoter activity,promoted the differentiation of na?ve CD4+T cells into Treg cells,and suppressed Th17 polarization.In the tMCAO model,Ononin significantly reduced acute in-farct size,improved survival,ameliorated long-term neurological deficits,and increased Treg cell propor-tions in ischemic brain tissue.Conclusions Ononin modulates peripheral and central inflammation by resto-ring the Th17/Treg immune balance,thereby exerting significant immunomodulatory effects.Its therapeutic benefit in ischemic stroke is closely linked to immune balance restoration.

Objective To investigate the correlation between novel bone metabolism markers and the degree of aortic calcification as well as cardiovascular event risk in elderly patients treated by PD.Methods A prospective trial was conducted on 230 elderly patients receiving continuous am-bulatory PD in our department from February 2022 to February 2024.According to the occur-rence of cardiovascular events during dialysis treatment,they were divided into a cardiovascular event group(n=92)and a control group(n=138).Relevant clinical data were collected,aortic calcification was assessed using AAC scores,and serum levels of bone metabolism markers,inclu-ding osteoprotegerin,TRACP,and PINP were measured.Results The serum levels of osteoprote-gerin,TRACP and PINP were significantly higher in the cardiovascular event group than the con-trol group(P＜0.01).The cardiovascular event group had obviously severe calcification and higher AAC score than the control group(P＜0.01).The serum levels of the three bone metabolism markers were notably higher in the patients with severe calcification than those with moderate calcification,followed by mild calcification in turn(P＜0.01).Spearman correlation analysis indi-cated that the levels of the three indicators were positively correlated with the degree of aortic cal-cification in elderly PD patients(r=0.465,P=0.000;r=0.396,P=0.000;r=0.434,P=0.000).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that these three indicators were risk factors for cardiovascular events in elderly PD patients(P＜0.01).Conclusion The three bone metabolism markers are significantly correlated with aortic calcification severity and cardiovascular event risk in elderly PD patients.Monitoring these marker levels may be helpful for the assessment and man-agement of cardiovascular risk.

A mounting body of research suggests that circRNAs significantly contribute to the develop-ment of myocardial fibrosis.The microarray results of human circular RNA expression profile indicated that circHERC4_041 expression increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure,RT-qPCR a-nalysis confirmed that the myocardial expression level of circHERC4_041 in individuals with heart failure were considerably elevated compared to that in healthy organ donors.Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)confirmed that circHERC4_041 was abundant in the cytoplasm of human cardiomyocyte AC16.Overexpression of circHERC4_041 in mouse myocardial fibroblasts(mCFs)mediated by adenovirus in-hibited the expression of fibrosis-related proteins in mCFs.Experiments involving cell proliferation,wound healing,and Transwell assays demonstrated that overexpression of circHERC4_041 suppressed the growth and mobility of mCFs(P＜0.001).Sequence analysis results suggested that circHERC4_041 con-tains potential ribosome entry sequence(IRES)and open reading frame(ORF).Western blot confirmed that circHERC4_041 could translate the 516 amino acid HERC4-516aa protein,which was mainly located in the cytoplasm of the cell.Cell functional experiments confirmed that circHERC4_041 inhibited the fi-brotic phenotype of mCFs by specifically translating HERC4-516aa(P＜0.05).The specific interaction between HERC4-516aa and transglutaminase 2(TGM2)was confirmed by IP-MS screening and Co-IP i-dentification.Further results found that the degradation of TGM2 was promoted through proteasome path-way.The overexpression of TGM2 in mCFs facilitated by adenoviral vectors could counteract the suppres-sive effects of HERC4-516aa on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs.Therefore,this study confirmed that the HERC4-516aa protein translated by circHERC4_041 can specifically bind to TGM2 to inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of myocardial fibroblasts.