Clinical analysis of high myopia in 320 cases in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

AIM: To analyze the clinical manifestations and etiological factors of high myopia in 320 cases. <p>METHODS:A total of 320 patients(640 eyes)with high myopia treated in Ningxia Eye Hospital from January 2011 to November 2012 were studied. All of them underwent thorough eye examination and relevant environmental factors were recorded. The following data were analyzed, including gender, ethnicity, age of onset, refractive error, axial length, best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), educational level and living environment. <p>RESULTS: Bilateral high myopia was present in 320 patients(130 men and 190 women; 250 being of Han nationality and 70 of Hui nationality)with a mean age of 42.65±16.51 years(range: 3-80 years); the male to female ratio was 1:1.5. The age of onset was lower than 20 years in 237 patients, higher than 21 yeas in 83 patients, the difference was statistically significant(<i>P</i><0.001). There was no significant difference between diopter and educational level(<i>P</i>>0.05). The patients with BCVA higher than 0.3 increased with diopter increased, while BCVA lower than 0.8 and between 0.4～0.7 reduced. Refraction was significantly negatively correlated with BCVA(<i>r</i>=-0.196, <i>P</i><0.05)and positive correlated with axial length(<i>r</i>=0.681, <i>P</i><0.05). <p>CONCLUSION: In the study, patients with high myopia tend to have early onset, low educational level, and spacious living environment. Such results indicate that the genetic factors may be the main cause of high myopia in this group. The higher the degree of myopia was, the worse BCVA and the longer AL would be

POSTURAL STABILITY PERFORMANCE BETWEEN SEDENTARY AND ACTIVE SUBJECTS WITH THE BIODEX STABILITY SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION: Postural stability (PS) has been defined as the ability to maintain an upright posture within the base of support (Lee and Lin, 2007) and is considered to be an important indicator of musculoskeletal health and physical performance. This study examined the PS performance between sedentary and active subjects using the Biodex Balance System (BBS) with well intraclass correlation coefficient (Hinman, 2000)

Inhibition of autophagy enhances SMI-4a-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis of melanoma cells

Purpose: To investigate the exact role of the proviral integration site for Moloney  murine leukemia virus-1 (PIM-1) on autophagy as well as the underlying molecular  mechanisms in melanoma.Methods: mRNA expression levels in A375 and G361 human melanoma cell lines were measured using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and western blotting assays were applied to determine protein expression levels, while cell viability was evaluated using Cell Counting Kit 8 and colony formation assay. Flow cytometric analysis and caspase 3/7 activity assay were used to assess apoptosis.Results: The results show that pharmacological inhibition of PIM-1 with its potent inhibitor (SMI-4a) suppressed cell viability and induced apoptosis in melanoma cell lines A375 and G361. SMI-4a also induced autophagy through inhibition of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) axis in melanoma cells. Furthermore, chloroquine, an inhibitor of autophagy, potentiated the SMI-4a-induced inhibition of tumour growth and promotion of  apoptosis in melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo.Conclusions: These results suggest that SMI-4a induces protective autophagy via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in melanoma cells. Thus, a combination of SMI-4a and an inhibitor of autophagy might be a novel approach to melanoma therapy.Keywords: Apoptosis, Autophagy, Cell viability, Melanoma, PIM-1, SMI-4

Graphite Nanoeraser

We present here a method for cleaning intermediate-size (5~50nm) contamination from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. Electron beam deposition causes a continuous increase of carbonaceous material on graphene and graphite surfaces, which is difficult to remove by conventional techniques. Direct mechanical wiping using a graphite nanoeraser is observed to drastically reduce the amount of contamination. After the mechanical removal of contamination, the graphite surfaces were able to self-retract after shearing, indicating that van der Waals contact bonding is restored. Since contact bonding provides an indication of a level of cleanliness normally only attainable in a high-quality clean-room, we discuss potential applications in preparation of ultraclean surfaces.Comment: 10 pages, two figure

A case of acute appendicitis with Vibrio fluvialis peritonitis

AbstractHuman infections caused by Vibrio fluvialis are rarely reported. The most common clinical presentation of V. fluvialis infection is acute gastroenteritis with diarrhea. Reported extra-intestinal infections caused by V. fluvialis have included bacteremia, hemorrhagic cellulitis and cerebritis. Peritonitis is an uncommon clinical presentation of Vibrio infections, and most cases have occurred in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis or those with liver cirrhosis. Herein, we report the first case of acute appendicitis with V. fluvialis peritonitis