Comparison of silicon oil removal with various viscosities after complex retinal detachment surgery

BACKGROUND: Despite the progress in vitreoretinal surgery and the importance of silicone oil as an adjunct for the treatment of complex forms of retinal detachment, controversy still surrounds the issue of selecting the proper oil viscosity for clinical use. Herein, we evaluate the outcomes of retinal detachment (RD) surgery after removing silicone oils of different viscosities. METHODS: In this retropsective cohort study, eighty-two eyes with surgically re-attached retinas, of which 53 were filled with 5000cs silicone oil and 29 with 1000cs silicone oil were enrolled. We evaluated the outcomes and complications following silicone oil removal. Final anatomic success (stable re-attachment), final visual acuity (VA) and intraocular pressure (IOP)were recorded and analysed. RESULTS: Of 82 eyes, 41 had proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), 24 were associated with intraocular foreign bodies, 10 had endophthalmitis and 7 had proliferative diabetic retinopathy with tractional retinal detachment. Prior to silicone oil removal, the retina was attached in all eyes, 29% had VA ≥ 6/120 and 52% had IOP ≥ 21 mmHg. After silicone oil removal, the retina remained attached in 59(72%) of the eyes, 34% had VA ≥ 6/120 and 9% had IOP ≥ 21 mmHg. Comparing 1000cs and 5000cs silicone oil filled eyes, redetachment occurred more frequently in the latter group especially in cases with associated PVR. Final VA worse than 6/120 was associated with initial VA < 6/120 (OR = 32.2 95%CI 7.4–140.2) and use of 5000cs silicone oil (OR = 7.9 95%CI 1.9–32.2). No factor was significantly associated with final IOP ≥ 21 mmHg. CONCLUSION: In complicated retinal detachment surgery, use of 5000cs silicone oil may be associated with a poorer anatomic and visual outcome compared with 1000cs silicone oil. However there was no difference between the two viscosities in IOP elevation. A randomized controlled study is necessary to further evaluate such a possibility

Potent and selective chemical probe of hypoxic signaling downstream of HIF-α hydroxylation via VHL inhibition

Chemical strategies to using small molecules to stimulate hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) activity and trigger a hypoxic response under normoxic conditions, such as iron chelators and inhibitors of prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD) enzymes, have broad-spectrum activities and off-target effects. Here we disclose VH298, a potent VHL inhibitor that stabilizes HIF-α and elicits a hypoxic response via a different mechanism, that is the blockade of the VHL:HIF-α protein-protein interaction downstream of HIF-α hydroxylation by PHD enzymes. We show that VH298 engages with high affinity and specificity with VHL as its only major cellular target, leading to selective on-target accumulation of hydroxylated HIF-α in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion in different cell lines, with subsequent upregulation of HIF-target genes at both mRNA and protein levels. VH298 represents a high-quality chemical probe of the HIF signalling cascade and an attractive starting point to the development of potential new therapeutics targeting hypoxia signalling

COVID-19, systemic crisis, and possible implications for the wild meat trade in sub-Saharan Africa

Wild animals play an integral and complex role in the economies and ecologies of many countries across the globe, including those of West and Central Africa, the focus of this policy perspective. The trade in wild meat, and its role in diets, have been brought into focus as a consequence of discussions over the origins of COVID-19. As a result, there have been calls for the closure of China’s “wet markets”; greater scrutiny of the wildlife trade in general; and a spotlight has been placed on the potential risks posed by growing human populations and shrinking natural habitats for animal to human transmission of zoonotic diseases. However, to date there has been little attention given to what the consequences of the COVID-19 economic shock may be for the wildlife trade; the people who rely on it for their livelihoods; and the wildlife that is exploited. In this policy perspective, we argue that the links between the COVID-19 pandemic, rural livelihoods and wildlife are likely to be more complex, more nuanced, and more far-reaching, than is represented in the literature to date. We develop a causal model that tracks the likely implications for the wild meat trade of the systemic crisis triggered by COVID-19. We focus on the resulting economic shockwave, as manifested in the collapse in global demand for commodities such as oil, and international tourism services, and what this may mean for local African economies and livelihoods. We trace the shockwave through to the consequences for the use of, and demand for, wild meats as households respond to these changes. We suggest that understanding and predicting the complex dynamics of wild meat use requires increased collaboration between environmental and resource economics and the ecological and conservation sciences

Do female Norway rats form social bonds?

This study was funded by the SNF-grant 31003A_156152 provided to MT.Social bonds reflect specific and enduring relationships among conspecifics. In some group-living animals, they have been found to generate immediate and long-term fitness benefits. It is currently unclear how important and how widespread social bonds are in animals other than primates. It has been hypothesized that social bonds may help in establishing stable levels of reciprocal cooperation. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) reciprocate received help to an unrelated social partner. It is hitherto unknown, however, whether this cooperative behaviour is based on the establishment of social bonds among involved individuals. Norway rats live in social groups that can be very large; hence, without bonds, it may be difficult to keep track of other individuals and their previous behaviour, which is a precondition for generating evolutionarily stable levels of cooperation based on direct reciprocity. Here we tested whether wild-type female rats form bonds among each other, which are stable both over time and across different contexts. In addition, we scrutinized the potential influence of social rank on the establishment of bonds. Despite the fact that the hierarchy structure within groups remained stable over the study period, no stable social bonds were formed between group members. Apparently, social information from consecutive encounters with the same social partner is not accumulated. The lack of long-term social bonds might explain why rats base their decisions to cooperate primarily on the last encounter with a social partner, which may differ from other animals where cooperation is based on the existence of long-term social bonds.PostprintPeer reviewe

Team Dynamics Theory: Nomological network among cohesion, team mental models, coordination, and collective efficacy

I put forth a theoretical framework, namely Team Dynamics Theory (TDT), to address the need for a parsimonious yet integrated, explanatory and systemic view of team dynamics. In TDT, I integrate team processes and outputs and explain their relationships within a systemic view of team dynamics. Specifically, I propose a generative nomological network linking cohesion, team mental models, coordination, collective efficacy, and team outcomes. From this nomological conceptualization, I illustrate how myriad alternative models can be derived to account for variance in different working teams, each comprised of unique members, and embedded in singular contexts. I outline TDT’s applied implications for team development, the enhancement of team functioning, and the profiling of team resilience. I conclude by discussing how TDT’s ontological and nomological propositions can be tested through various theoretical inquiries, methodological approaches, and intervention-based studies