Visual Function after Primary Posterior Chamber Intraocular Lens Implantation in Pediatric Unilateral Cataract: Stereopsis and Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between binocular function and vision after cataract removal and primary posterior chamber intraocular lens (PC-IOL) implantation in children with unilateral cataract and to identify visual function differences according cataract type. METHODS: Clinical records of 2- to 6-year-old patients with unilateral cataract removal and primary PC-IOL implantation were reviewed retrospectively. Visual acuity and ocular alignment were measured. Sensory fusion was assessed with the Worth 4-dot test, and stereoacuity with the Titmus stereo test. Cataracts were classified according to cause, lens opacity location, age at onset, and presence of strabismus. Clinical characteristics of patients who obtained good visual function were identified. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients were included. Among 22 (46.8%) with good vision (20/40 or better), only 6 (27.3%) achieved good binocular function (the presence of fusion and 100 seconds of arc or better of stereoacuity). Visual acuity was better in eyes with good binocular function (p=0.002). No other variables were significant for achieving good binocular function. CONCLUSIONS: The removal of unilateral cataract in a visually immature child can result in a combination of good visual acuity and binocular function. Good binocular function is closely related to good visual acuity

Subchronic oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles has resulted in their extensive application in health, electronic, consumer, medicinal, pesticide, and home products; however, silver nanoparticles remain a controversial area of research with respect to their toxicity in biological and ecological systems.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study tested the oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles (56 nm) over a period of 13 weeks (90 days) in F344 rats following Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guideline 408 and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). Five-week-old rats, weighing about 99 g for the males and 92 g for the females, were divided into four 4 groups (10 rats in each group): vehicle control, low-dose (30 mg/kg), middle-dose (125 mg/kg), and high-dose (500 mg/kg). After 90 days of exposure, clinical chemistry, hematology, histopathology, and silver distribution were studied. There was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the body weight of male rats after 4 weeks of exposure, although there were no significant changes in food or water consumption during the study period. Significant dose-dependent changes were found in alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol for the male and female rats, indicating that exposure to more than 125 mg/kg of silver nanoparticles may result in slight liver damage. Histopathologic examination revealed a higher incidence of bile-duct hyperplasia, with or without necrosis, fibrosis, and/or pigmentation, in treated animals. There was also a dose-dependent accumulation of silver in all tissues examined. A gender-related difference in the accumulation of silver was noted in the kidneys, with a twofold increase in female kidneys compared to male kidneys.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The target organ for the silver nanoparticles was found to be the liver in both the male and female rats. A NOAEL (no observable adverse effect level) of 30 mg/kg and LOAEL (lowest observable adverse effect level) of 125 mg/kg are suggested from the present study.</p

Proizvodnja antikomplementnih egzopolisaharida submerznim uzgojem gljive Flammulina velutipes

Seven species of basidiomycetes have been investigated for anti-complementary activity in hot water extracts and ethanol soluble fractions. Since Flammulina velutipes had the most potent activity, culture conditions for its mycelial growth were optimized to increase the production efficiency of anti-complementary exopolysaccharides. The optimal medium composition was (in g/L): galactose 15, sodium nitrate 5, glutamic acid 3, KH2PO4 2.5 and MgSO4·7H2O 0.6. Optimal production of anti-complementary activity was achieved at pH=3.5–5.5 and 25 °C. With these optimal medium and culture conditions, mycelial dry mass was maximized at 3.17 mg/mL after 6 days of cultivation in a 5-liter stirred-tank bioreactor, without pH control. The anti-complementary activity of exopolysaccharides increased sharply after 4 days of cultivation, and showed a high level at 5–6 days of cultivation. A periodate-labile carbohydrate moiety played a leading role in the anti-complementary activity exhibited by exopolysaccharide produced from F. velutipes. Results of tests on the anti-complementary activity in the absence of Ca²+ and immunoelectrophoresis indicated that the mode of complement activation by exopolysaccharide from F. velutipes is via both the classical and alternative pathways and that the activation degree is almost the same in each pathway.Istražena je antikomplementna aktivnost spojeva ekstrahiranih vrućom vodom i etanolom iz sedam vrsta gljiva stapčara. Optimirani su uvjeti uzgoja micelija gljive s najvećom aktivnosti, Flammulina velutipes, radi povećanja proizvodnje antikomplementnih egzopolisaharida. Optimalni sastav podloge bio je (u g/L): galaktoza 15, natrijev nitrat 5, glutamična kiselina 3, KH2PO4 2,5 i MgSO4·7H2O 0,6. Optimalna proizvodnja postignuta je pri pH=3,5-5,5 i 25 ºC. Pri tim uvjetima proizvedena je maksimalna količina suhe tvari od 3,17 mg/L nakon 6 dana uzgoja u bioreaktoru s miješalicom zapremnine 5 L, bez kontrole pH-vrijednosti. Antikomplementna aktivnost egzopolisaharida naglo se povećala nakon 4 dana, te je bila visoka nakon 5-6 dana uzgoja. Šećerni je ostatak, podložan djelovanju perjodata, glavni razlog antikomplementne aktivnosti egzopolisaharida gljive F. velutipes. Rezultati testiranja takve aktivnosti u odsutnosti Ca²+ iona i imunoelektroforeza upućuju na to da se komplementi egzopolisaharida iz F. velutipes aktiviraju klasičnim i alternativnim putem te da je stupanj aktivacije skoro jednak za oba puta

Type I IFNs and TNF cooperatively reprogram the macrophage epigenome to promote inflammatory activation

Cross-regulation of Toll-like receptor responses by cytokines is essential for effective host defense, avoidance of toxicity, and homeostasis, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. A comprehensive epigenomic approach in human macrophages showed that the proinflammatory cytokines TNF and type I IFNs induce transcriptional cascades that alter chromatin states to broadly reprogram TLR4-induced responses. TNF tolerized inflammatory genes to prevent toxicity, while preserving antiviral and metabolic gene induction. Type I IFNs potentiated TNF inflammatory function by priming chromatin to prevent silencing of inflammatory NF-κB target genes. Priming of chromatin enabled robust transcriptional responses to weak upstream signals. Similar chromatin regulation occurred in human diseases. Our findings reveal that signaling crosstalk between IFNs and TNF is integrated at the level of chromatin to reprogram inflammatory responses, and identify new functions and mechanisms of action of these cytokines

A Dual Inhibitor of the Proteasome Catalytic Subunits LMP2 and Y Attenuates Disease Progression in Mouse Models of Alzheimer\u27s Disease

The immunoproteasome (iP) is a variant of the constitutive proteasome (cP) that is abundantly expressed in immune cells which can also be induced in somatic cells by cytokines such as TNF-α or IFN-γ. Accumulating evidence support that the iP is closely linked to multiple facets of inflammatory response, eventually leading to the development of several iP inhibitors as potential therapeutic agents for autoimmune diseases. Recent studies also found that the iP is upregulated in reactive glial cells surrounding amyloid β (Aβ) deposits in brains of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) patients, but the role it plays in the pathogenesis of AD remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of several proteasome inhibitors on cognitive function in AD mouse models and found that YU102, a dual inhibitor of the iP catalytic subunit LMP2 and the cP catalytic subunit Y, ameliorates cognitive impairments in AD mouse models without affecting Aβ deposition. The data obtained from our investigation revealed that YU102 suppresses the secretion of inflammatory cytokines from microglial cells. Overall, this study indicates that there may exist a potential link between LMP2/Y and microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and that inhibition of these subunits may offer a new therapeutic strategy for AD

Accelerating and Supersonic Density Fluctuations in Coronal Hole Plumes: Signature of Nascent Solar Winds

Slow magnetoacoustic waves in a static background provide a seismological tool to probe the solar atmosphere in the analytic frame. By analyzing the spatiotemporal variation of the electron number density of plume structure in coronal holes above the limb for a given temperature, we find that the density perturbations accelerate with supersonic speeds in the distance range from 1.02 to 1.23 solar radii. We interpret them as slow magnetoacoustic waves propagating at about the sound speed with accelerating subsonic flows. The average sonic height of the subsonic flows is calculated to be 1.27 solar radii. The mass flux of the subsonic flows is estimated to be 44.1$\%$ relative to the global solar wind. Hence, the subsonic flow is likely to be the nascent solar wind. In other words, the evolution of the nascent solar wind in plumes at the low corona is quantified for the first time from imaging observations. Based on the interpretation, propagating density perturbations present in plumes could be used as a seismological probe of the gradually accelerating solar wind.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL, 11 pages, 5 figure