Improvement of visual acuity in children with anisometropic amblyopia treated with rotated prisms combined with near activity

<b>AIM:</b> To evaluate the efficacy of a new modality for improving visual acuity (VA) in pediatric patients with anisometropic amblyopia.<b>METHODS:</b> Retrospective and interventional case series. Medical records of 360 children with anisometropic amblyopia treated with a modality that included rotated prisms, lenses, and near activities from January 2008 to January 2012 were analyzed. Characteristics such as improvement of VA and contrast sensitivity in amblyopic eyes and resolution of amblyopia (VA≤0.1logMAR or a difference of ≤2 lines in logMAR between the eyes) were assessed.<b>RESULTS:</b> Among the patients, the mean VA of the amblyopic eyes improved from 0.48logMAR (SD=0.16) to 0.12logMAR (SD=0.16) and the mean VA improvement was 0.36logMAR (SD=0.10, <i>P</i><0.001). Resolution of amblyopia was achieved in 233 of 360 patients (64.72%). The mean time for resolution of amblyopia was 8.05 weeks (SD=4.83) or 14.14 sessions (SD=8.76). Among the study group, refraction error did not change significantly after treatment (<i>P</i>=0.437). We found that better baseline VA may be related to success and shorten the time to amblyopic resolution.<b>CONCLUSION:</b> VA and contrast sensitivity improved with rotated prisms, correcting lenses, and near activities in children with anisometropic amblyopia. The VA improvement by this modality was comparable to other methods. However, the time to resolution of amblyopia was shorter with this method than with other modalities. Rotated prisms combined with near acuity could provide an alternative treatment in children with anisometropic amblyopia who can’t tolerant traditional therapy method like patching

Experimental Study of Demolding Properties on Stereolithography Tooling

Direct tooling using stereolithography (SL

Association between Organochlorine Pesticide Levels in Breast Milk and Their Effects on Female Reproduction in a Taiwanese Population

Only few studies have focused on organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in breast milk and the related health risks for women in Taiwan. Our goal is to examine breast milk OCPs and their associations with female reproductive function (infertility, gynecological diseases, and menstruation characteristics) as well as their correlation with sociodemographic parameters (age, pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI), annual incomes, population, birth year, and parity) and dietary habit. The breast milk samples were collected in southern Taiwan (n = 68) from 2013 to 2016 and the OCP residues were analyzed using high resolution gas chromatography with low resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/LRMS). The results show that the most abundant OCP residues in the breast milk was &Sigma;DDT with the geometric mean &plusmn; standard deviation of 9.81 &plusmn; 7.52 ng&minus;1 lipid&minus;1 followed by &Sigma;HCH (0.539 &plusmn; 0.557 ng&minus;1&middot;lipid&minus;1). In the principal component analysis, cis-chlordane (cis-CHL) and &gamma;-HCH were found to be related to participants who received medical treatment for infertility, and 4,4&prime;-DDT was associated with those who received gynecological surgery. The logistic regression showed that the odds ratio (OR) of log &gamma;-hexachlorocyclohexane (&gamma;-HCH) was higher for mothers who had received medical treatment for infertility than for the normal group (OR = 25.6, p = 0.035) after adjustments for age, pre-pregnant BMI, annual income, population (i.e., native-born Taiwanese), birth year, and parity. Cow milk and beef consumption as well as menstruation characteristics such as average menstrual period (&gt;5 days), shortest menstrual period (&lt;3 days), and women who had taken hormonal drugs were significantly associated to several OCP residues in the breast milk. In addition, &Sigma;HCH including &beta;-HCH and &gamma;-HCH was correlated with annual family income and gravidity as well as cow milk and beef consumptions. Overall, &gamma;-HCH exhibited a probable association with the infertility diseases of Taiwanese women, and dietary habit might play an important role in the female Taiwanese exposure to OCPs