Prosthetic Replacement of the Ocular Surface Ecosystem (PROSE) scleral lens for Salzmann’s nodular degeneration

AbstractPurposeTo evaluate the use of Prosthetic Replacement of the Ocular Surface Ecosystem (PROSE) scleral lens treatment as an alternative to keratectomy in patients with symptomatic Salzmann’s nodular degeneration (SND).MethodsA retrospective chart review from July 2009 to May 2013 identified 9 SND patients who were referred for PROSE evaluation. Patients who did not complete PROSE fitting or had other corneal comorbidities affecting vision were excluded from the study, and 7 eyes of 4 patients were included. Three patients were pseudophakic and 1 patient was phakic, and the lens status of our cohort did not change during the study.ResultsVisual acuity improved from 0.19±0.084 logMAR (approximately 20/31) pre PROSE to 0.028±0.047 logMAR (approximately 20/21) post PROSE in patients with Salzmann’s nodular degeneration (p=0.002). OSDI scores improved from 46.9±26.6 pre PROSE to 21.5±18.7 post PROSE in the same cohort (p=0.02).ConclusionThe results of this study show that PROSE can provide improvements in visual acuity and function in patients with Salzmann’s nodular degeneration and offer an alternative to superficial keratectomy

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Dental microwear texture analysis of Homo sapiens sapiens: foragers, farmers, and pastoralists

Objectives. The current study seeks to determine if a sample of foragers, farmers, and pastoralists can be distinguished by their dental microwear texture signatures. Materials and Methods. The study included a sample of 719 individuals from 51 archaeological sites (450 farmers, 192 foragers, 77 pastoralists). All were over age 12 and sexes were pooled. Using a Sensofar® white-light confocal profiler we collected dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) data from a single first or second molar from each individual. We leveled and cleaned data clouds following standard procedures and analyzed the data with Sfrax® and Toothfrax® software. The DMTA variables were complexity and anisotropy. Statistics included ANOVA with partial eta squared and Hedges's g. We also performed a follow-up K-means cluster analysis. Results. We found significant differences between foragers and farmers and pastoralists for complexity and anisotropy, with foragers having greater complexity than either the farmers or the pastoralists. The farmers and pastoralists had greater anisotropy than the foragers. The Old World foragers had significantly higher anisotropy values than New World foragers. Old and New World farmers did not differ. Among the Old World farmers, those dating from the Neolithic through the Late Bronze Age had higher complexity values than those from the Iron Age through the medieval period. The cluster analysis discerned foragers and farmers but also indicated similarity between hard food foragers and hard food farmers. Discussion. Our findings reaffirm that DMTA is capable of distinguishing human diets. We found that foragers and farmers, in particular, differ in their microwear signatures across the globe. There are some exceptions, but nothing that would be unexpected given the range of human diets and food preparation techniques. This study indicates that in general DMTA is an efficacious means of paleodietary reconstruction in humans

A Functional Phylogenomic View of the Seed Plants

A novel result of the current research is the development and implementation of a unique functional phylogenomic approach that explores the genomic origins of seed plant diversification. We first use 22,833 sets of orthologs from the nuclear genomes of 101 genera across land plants to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships. One of the more salient results is the resolution of some enigmatic relationships in seed plant phylogeny, such as the placement of Gnetales as sister to the rest of the gymnosperms. In using this novel phylogenomic approach, we were also able to identify overrepresented functional gene ontology categories in genes that provide positive branch support for major nodes prompting new hypotheses for genes associated with the diversification of angiosperms. For example, RNA interference (RNAi) has played a significant role in the divergence of monocots from other angiosperms, which has experimental support in Arabidopsis and rice. This analysis also implied that the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase IV and V (NRPD2) played a prominent role in the divergence of gymnosperms. This hypothesis is supported by the lack of 24nt siRNA in conifers, the maternal control of small RNA in the seeds of flowering plants, and the emergence of double fertilization in angiosperms. Our approach takes advantage of genomic data to define orthologs, reconstruct relationships, and narrow down candidate genes involved in plant evolution within a phylogenomic view of species' diversification

Sustained descemetocele management with Prosthetic Replacement of the Ocular Surface Ecosystem (PROSE) treatment

Purpose: To report a case of a 67-year-old male who was successfully managed over a 7-year period for descemetocele secondary to ocular graft versus host disease (oGVHD) using Prosthetic Replacement of the Ocular Surface Ecosystem (PROSE) treatment. Observations: We previously reported on a patient managed with a PROSE device for severe dry eyes secondary to oGVHD, who subsequently developed a central corneal descemetocele. The patient was deemed a poor surgical candidate due to limbal stem cell deficiency secondary to oGVHD. Therefore, we elected to closely monitor the descemetocele as the patient continued PROSE therapy. The patient's descemetocele has been managed successfully without perforation throughout a 7-year follow-up period with corrected distance visual acuity remaining stable at 20/50 in the affected eye. Conclusions and importance: Descemetoceles are an uncommon complication of ocular graft versus host disease. This is the longest published report of a corneal descemetocele managed with PROSE. Our report suggests that in appropriate patients who are at high-risk for post-surgical complications, PROSE in conjunction with other medical management should be considered as an alternative to corneal transplantation

Evaluation of the corneal epithelium in non-Sjögren’s and Sjögren’s dry eyes: an in vivo confocal microscopy study using HRT III RCM

Abstract Background The corneal epithelium is directly affected in dry eye syndrome. Thus, we attempted to describe the morphological features and evaluate the cellular density within the corneal epithelial layers in patients with non-Sjögren’s (NSDE) and Sjögren’s syndrome dry eyes (SSDE) by in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). Methods Central cornea was prospectively imaged by IVCM in 68 clinically diagnosed aqueous tear-deficient dry eyes and 10 healthy age-matched control eyes. Morphological characteristics of corneal epithelial layers and cellular densities were evaluated by four trained graders from the Doheny Eye Institute. Results Corneal epithelium in dry eyes presents morphological changes such as areas of enlarged and irregular shaped cells. In comparison with controls, the density of superficial epithelial cells was decreased in both the NSDE (P  0.05), but was lower in the SSDE group (P < 0.01); the density of the inner layer of wing cells was decreased in both the NSDE (P < 0.05) and SSDE groups (P < 0.01) and the density of basal epithelial cells was lower in both the NSDE (P < 0.01) and SSDE groups (P = 0.01). For all cell counts, the interclass correlation coefficient showed good agreement between graders (ICC =0.75 to 0.93). Conclusions IVCM represents a reliable technique for examining the corneal epithelial microstructural changes associated with dry eyes, as well as for objectively and reproducibly quantifying cell densities within all corneal epithelial layers