Central Retinal Vein Occlusion with Therapeutic Level of Anticoagulation

Purpose. To describe a patient with two episodes of deep venous thrombosis and factor V Leiden mutation who presented with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) despite prophylactic use of warfarin sodium (Coumadin). Methods. A case report of a 44-year-old woman with a history of recurrent deep venous thrombosis and Factor V Leiden mutation was placed on lifelong prophylactic therapy with warfarin. The patient presented with CRVO in the left eye despite therapeutic levels of warfarin. Results. Extensive systemic evaluation disclosed high titers for antinuclear antibody (ANA). Conclusion. Systemic anticoagulation with warfarin may not preclude further thrombotic episodes. In younger patients presenting with retinal vein occlusion and pre-existing multiple thrombophilic risk factors, a multidisciplinary approach is recommended to explore other therapeutic options to avoid further thromboembolic complications

PIMASERTIB and SEROUS RETINAL DETACHMENTS

© by Ophthalmic Communications Society, Inc.Purpose: To report a case of multifocal serous retinal detachments associated with pimasertib. Methods: The authors report a 26-year-old patient who developed bilateral multifocal serous retinal detachments appearing 2 days after starting pimasertib (as part of a clinical trial investigating its use in low-grade metastatic ovarian cancer) and rapidly resolving 3 days after stopping it. Conclusion: The mechanism of MEK inhibitor induced visual toxicity remains unclear. The pathophysiology of multifocal serous retinal detachments as a complication of pimasertib is still poorly understood. Copyringhtpublished_or_final_versio

Re-operation of idiopathic full-thickness macular holes after initial surgery with internal limiting membrane peel

Background/aims: A retrospective consecutive case series to evaluate the efficacy of re-operation in patients with persistent or recurrent idiopathic full-thickness macular hole after initial surgery with internal limiting membrane peel (ILM). Methods: 491 patients underwent surgery for fullthickness macular hole from January 2004 to November 2007. Fifty-five patients either did not close or reopened during the follow-up period. Thirty patients with initial ILM peel underwent repeat surgery involving vitrectomy, enlargement of ILM rhexis and gas tamponade. Results: Anatomical closure rate was 88.8% for primary surgery and 46.7% (14/30) for re-operation. There was a statistically significant improvement in overall best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from re-operation baseline BCVA (p=0.02) within 1 year. For holes that did not close after the second surgery, visual acuity did not worsen. Conclusion: Re-operation has a reduced success rate of anatomical closure. However, BCVA is statistically significantly improved from re-operation baseline, so even though we cannot return vision to pre-pathological baseline, re-operation can improve on this new baseline.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Bureaucratising Co-production: Institutional Adaptation of Irrigation Associations in Taiwan

In 2020, Taiwan’s 17 irrigation associations were bureaucratised to become management offices of the Irrigation Agency under the government’s Council of Agriculture. This change marked the end of the parastatal mode of irrigation management that has in past decades played an important role in fostering Taiwan’s agricultural and economic development. As these parastatals have always been hailed by the international water research community as exemplars of co-production and state-community synergy, the change is baffling. While irrigation management in many places around the world has been moving towards a higher degree of decentralisation and self-governance, Taiwan seems to be moving in the opposite direction. How can we make sense of this change? What are the driving forces behind it? Does the bureaucratisation of the irrigation associations signify a failure of the co-production model? By tracing the evolution of irrigation institutions in Taiwan, this study examines the dynamic of institutional change as a response to the island’s changing political economy. The study shows that changes in the macropolitical-economic context prompted the Taiwanese government to reconsider two imperatives that underlie the institutional design of irrigation associations: robustness trade-offs and the modus operandi of co-production. The bureaucratisation of irrigation associations was an institutional manifestation of the adjustment of the two imperatives in adapting to the changing political economy

The development of universal retirement policy in Hong Kong : a study of political and administrative dynamics

published_or_final_versionPolitics and Public AdministrationMasterMaster of Public Administratio

Palladium‐catalysed cross‐coupling reactions for the synthesis of chalcones

In this Minireview, we discuss some of the important palladium‐catalysed cross‐coupling reactions utilised in the synthesis of the enone system of chalcones. Examples given here not only exemplify the efficiency and practicality of new C−C bond formation of the enone system via palladium‐catalysed reactions but also reflect some of the revolutionary methods used for the preparation of a more complex and valuable chalcone scaffold which is known to be a privileged structure in the field of medicinal chemistry

High-Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography Retinal Imaging: A Case Series Illustrating Potential and Limitations

Purpose. To present a series of retinal disease cases that were imaged by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in order to illustrate the potential and limitations of this new imaging modality. Methods. The series comprised four selected cases (one case each) of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO), and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Patients were imaged using the Heidelberg Spectralis (Heidelberg Engineering, Germany) in SD-OCT mode. Patients also underwent digital fundus photography and clinical assessment. Results. SD-OCT imaging of a case of age-related macular degeneration revealed a subfoveal choroidal neovascular membrane with detachment of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and neurosensory retina. Using SD-OCT, the cases of DR and BRVO both exhibited macular edema with cystoid spaces visible in the outer retina. Conclusions. The ability of SD-OCT to clearly and objectively elucidate subtle morphological changes within the retinal layers provides information that can be used to formulate diagnoses with greater confidence

ZnO nanorod/GaN light-emitting diodes: The origin of yellow and violet emission bands under reverse and forward bias

ZnO nanorods have been prepared by electrodeposition under identical conditions on various p-GaN-based thin film structures. The devices exhibited lighting up under both forward and reverse biases, but the turn-on voltage and the emission color were strongly dependent on the p-GaN-based structure used. The origin of different luminescence peaks under forward and reverse bias has been studied by comparing the devices with and without ZnO and by photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. We found that both yellow-orange emission under reverse bias and violet emission under forward bias, which are commonly attributed to ZnO, actually originate from the p-GaN substrate and/or surface/interface defects. While the absolute brightness of devices without InGaN multiple quantum wells was low, high brightness with luminance exceeding 10 000 cd/m 2 and tunable emission (from orange at 2.1 V to blue at 2.7 V, with nearly white emission with Commission internationale de l'éclairage (CIE) coordinates (0.30, 0.31) achieved at 2.5 V) was obtained for different devices containing InGaN multiple quantum wells. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio

AC and AG Dinucleotide Repeats in the PAX6 P1 Promoter are Associated with High Myopia

Purpose: The PAX6 gene, located at the reported myopia locus MYP7 on chromosome 11p13, was postulated to be associated with myopia development. This study investigated the association of PAX6 with high myopia in 379 high myopia patients and 349 controls. Methods: High myopia patients had refractive errors of –6.00 diopters or greater and axial length longer than 26 mm. Control subjects had refractive errors less than –1.00 diopter and axial length shorter than 24 mm. The P1 promoter, all coding sequences, and adjacent splice-site regions of the PAX6 gene were screened in all study subjects by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. PAX6 P1 promoter-luciferase constructs with variable AC and AG repeat lengths were prepared and transfected into human ARPE-19 cells prior to assaying for their transcriptional activities. Results: No sequence alterations in the coding or splicing regions showed an association with high myopia. Two dinucleotide repeats, (AC)m and (AG)n, in the P1 promoter region were found to be highly polymorphic and significantly associated with high myopia. Higher repeat numbers were observed in high myopia patients for both (AC)m (empirical p = 0.013) and (AG)n (empirical p = 0.012) dinucleotide polymorphisms, with a 1.327-fold increased risk associated with the (AG)n repeat (empirical p = 0.016; 95% confidence interval: 1.059–1.663). Luciferase-reporter analysis showed elevated transcription activity with increasing individual (AC)m and (AG)n and combined (AC)m(AG)n repeat lengths. Conclusions: Our results revealed an association between high myopia and AC and AG dinucleotide repeat lengths in the PAX6 P1 promoter, indicating the involvement of PAX6 in the pathogenesis of high myopia