Comparative analysis of binocular summation of pattern visual evoked potential before and after the surgery of concomitant strabismus

AIM: To investigate the opportunity of the concomitant strabismus operation and the function in the treatment of strabismic amblyopia through analyzing the changes of binocular summation of pattern visual evoked potential(P-VEP)before and after the surgery of concomitant strabismus. <p>METHODS: In this retrospective study we investigated 67 cases admitted in our hospital. All patients were less than 18a and the postoperation squint angle was less than ±10^△. Patients were divided into three groups according to the strabismus type, age, and amblyopia degree. P-VEP binocular summation response was recorded in all cases, to observe the changes of the binocular summation response of P-VEP before strabismus surgery and 1mo, 3mo after surgery. The P-VEP response of binocular /monocular(B/M)ratio was taken as an evaluation index. <p>RESULTS: B/M value of three groups all improved obviously 1mo after surgery, which the difference showed statistical significant(<i>P</i><0.01). 1)After 3mo surgery, B/M value in esotropia group was higher than that in exotropia group(<i>P</i><0.05). 2)After 3mo surgery, B/M value in ≤6a group was higher than that in >12a group(<i>P</i><0.05). 3)After 1mo surgery, B/M value in severe amblyopia group was higher than that in mild group(<i>P</i><0.05). After 3mo surgery, B/M value in severe amblyopia group was higher than that in mild group significantly(<i>P</i><0.01). <p>CONCLUSION: Concomitant strabismus surgery is suggested to be performed before 6 years old when the patients are difficult to improve the vision after amblyopia treatment, especially with the severe amblyopia and esotropia(accommodative esotropia must be excluded). The early operation is better to amblyopia treatment and binocular vision recovery

PBL teaching model on cultivating students' clinical thinking in clinical practice teaching of ophthalmology

AIM: To explore the teaching effect of problem-based learning(PBL)on cultivating students' clinical thinking in clinical practice teaching of ophthalmology. METHODS: A total of 141 clinical undergraduate students were selected to attend the ophthalmology course in the first semester of the 2017-2018 academic year, students were randomly assigned to the traditional lecture based learning(LBL)teaching group of 69 and the PBL model teaching group of 72 in the clinical practice class. The two groups of students studied the same courses at the early stage, and there was no statistically significant difference in college entrance examination scores, gender, age, and practice time of ophthalmology(P>0.05). At the end of the internship, the teaching effects of the two teaching methods were compared and analyzed by means of students' curriculum assessment questionnaire survey and the clinical examination results. RESULTS: The evaluation of students' satisfaction with the training of various abilities of the course showed that the satisfaction of each ability of the PBL teaching group was higher than that of the traditional teaching group(LBL). Among these abilities, there were statistically significant differences in learning interest improvement, knowledge expansion ability, problem-solving ability and doctor-patient communication ability(PPCONCLUSION: PBL teaching method is more effective in clinical practice teaching of ophthalmology, which is beneficial to train clinical thinking and improve teaching quality

Sesamin: A Naturally Occurring Lignan Inhibits CYP3A4 by Antagonizing the Pregnane X Receptor Activation

Inconsistent expression and regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) are common causes of adverse drug effects in some drugs with a narrow therapeutic index (TI). An important cytochrome, cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), is predominantly regulated by a nuclear receptor, pregnane X receptor (PXR). Sesamin, a major lignan constituent in sesame seeds and oil, exhibits a variety of biological functions; however, the effect of sesamin on the modulation of CYP3A4 is not well understood. In this study, the effects of sesamin on the PXR-CYP3A4 pathway were characterized, as well as the underlying mechanisms of those effects. Sesamin potently attenuated CYP3A4 induction in a dose-dependent manner by blocking the activation of PXR. The PXR inducer-mediated inhibition of CYP3A4 was further evidenced by the ability of sesamin to attenuate the effects of several PXR ligands in the CYP3A4 reporter assay. Further mechanistic studies showed that sesamin inhibited PXR by interrupting the interacting with coregulators. These results may lead to the development of new therapeutic and dietary approaches to reduce the frequency of inducer-drug interaction. Sesamin was established as a novel inhibitor of PXR and may be useful for modulating DMEs expression and drug efficacies. Modification of CYP3A4 expression and activity by consumption of sesamin may have important implications for drug safety

The iNOS/Src/FAK axis is critical in Toll-like receptor-mediated cell motility in macrophages

AbstractThe Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a pivotal role in innate immunity for the detection of highly conserved, pathogen-expressed molecules. Previously, we demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS, TLR4 ligand)-increased macrophage motility required the participation of Src and FAK, which was inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-dependent. To investigate whether this iNOS/Src/FAK pathway is a general mechanism for macrophages to mobilize in response to engagement of TLRs other than TLR4, peptidoglycan (PGN, TLR2 ligand), polyinosinic–polycytidylic acid (polyI:C, TLR3 ligand) and CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG, TLR9 ligand) were used to treat macrophages in this study. Like LPS stimulation, simultaneous increase of cell motility and Src (but not Fgr, Hck, and Lyn) was detected in RAW264.7, peritoneal macrophages, and bone marrow-derived macrophages exposed to PGN, polyI:C and CpG. Attenuation of Src suppressed PGN-, polyI:C-, and CpG-elicited movement and the level of FAK Pi-Tyr861, which could be reversed by the reintroduction of siRNA-resistant Src. Besides, knockdown of FAK reduced the mobility of macrophages stimulated with anyone of these TLR ligands. Remarkably, PGN-, polyI:C-, and CpG-induced Src expression, FAK Pi-Tyr861, and cell mobility were inhibited in macrophages devoid of iNOS, indicating the importance of iNOS. These findings corroborate that iNOS/Src/FAK axis occupies a central role in macrophage locomotion in response to engagement of TLRs

The psoas muscle density as a predictor of postoperative complications in elderly patients undergoing rectal cancer resection

BackgroundMuscle depletion that impairs normal physiological function in elderly patients leads to poor prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate the association between total abdominal muscle area (TAMA), total psoas area (TPA), psoas muscle density (PMD), and short-term postoperative complications in elderly patients with rectal cancer.MethodsAll elderly patients underwent rectal cancer resection with perioperative abdominal computed tomography (CT). Complications were assessed according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. Severe complications were defined as grade III-V following the Clavien-Dindo classification. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate risk factors of short-term severe postoperative complications.ResultsThe cohort consisted of 191 patients with a mean age of 73.60 ± 8.81 years. Among them, 138 (72.25%) patients had Clavien-Dindo 0- II, 53 (27.75%) patients had severe postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo III-V), and 1(0.52%) patient died within 30 days of surgery. PMD was significantly higher in the Clavien-Dindo 0-II cohort compared to the Clavien-Dindo III-V cohort (p=0.004). Nevertheless, TAMA and TPA failed to exhibit significant differences. Moreover, the multivariate regression analysis implied that advanced age [OR 1.07 95%CI (1.02–1.13) p=0.013], male [OR 5.03 95%CI (1.76-14.41) p=0.003], high charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score [OR 3.60 95%CI (1.44-9.00) p=0.006], and low PMD [OR 0.94 95%CI (0.88-0.99) p=0.04] were independent risk factors of Clavien-Dindo III-V.ConclusionPreoperative assessment of the PMD on CT can be a simple and practical method for identifying elderly patients with rectal cancer at risk for severe postoperative complications

Electrical transport properties of an isolated CdS microrope composed of twisted nanowires

CdS is one of the important II-VI group semiconductors. In this paper, the electrical transport behavior of an individual CdS microrope composed of twisted nanowires is studied. It is found that the current–voltage (I-V) characteristics show two distinct power law regions from 360 down to 60 K. Space-charge-limited current (SCLC) theory is used to explain these temperature- and electric-field-dependent I-V curves. The I-V data can be well fitted by this theory above 100 K, and the corresponding carrier mobility, trap energy, and trap concentration are also obtained. However, the I-V data exhibit some features of the Coulomb blockade effect below 80 K

Improving precision management of anxiety disorders: a Mendelian randomization study targeting specific gut microbiota and associated metabolites

BackgroundThere is growing evidence of associations between the gut microbiota and anxiety disorders, where changes in gut microbiotas may affect brain function and behavior via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. However, population-level studies offering a higher level of evidence for causality are lacking. Our aim was to investigate the specific gut microbiota and associated metabolites that are closely related to anxiety disorders to provide mechanistic insights and novel management perspectives for anxiety disorders.MethodThis study used summary-level data from publicly available Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) for 119 bacterial genera and the phenotype “All anxiety disorders” to reveal the causal effects of gut microbiota on anxiety disorders and identify specific bacterial genera associated with anxiety disorders. A two-sample, bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) design was deployed, followed by comprehensive sensitivity analyses to validate the robustness of results. We further conducted multivariable MR (MVMR) analysis to investigate the potential impact of neurotransmitter-associated metabolites, bacteria-associated dietary patterns, drug use or alcohol consumption, and lifestyle factors such as smoking and physical activity on the observed associations.ResultsBidirectional MR analysis identified three bacterial genera causally related to anxiety disorders: the genus Eubacterium nodatum group and genus Ruminococcaceae UCG011 were protective, while the genus Ruminococcaceae UCG011 was associated with an increased risk of anxiety disorders. Further MVMR suggested that a metabolite-dependent mechanism, primarily driven by tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine, glycine and cortisol, which is consistent with previous research findings, probably played a significant role in mediating the effects of these bacterial genera to anxiety disorders. Furthermore, modifying dietary pattern such as salt, sugar and processed meat intake, and adjusting smoking state and physical activity levels, appears to be the effective approaches for targeting specific gut microbiota to manage anxiety disorders.ConclusionOur findings offer potential avenues for developing precise and effective management approaches for anxiety disorders by targeting specific gut microbiota and associated metabolites

Exploring the potential of blended learning to promote retention and achievement in higher education professional study programs

In this paper, we present a blended learning model designed for a university professional study program attended by full-time professional workers, i.e. in-service teachers studying in the field of School Administration. The model integrates four main instructional strategies at the program level: mentoring; participation in an online community of professional learning and practice; collaborative concept-mapping with an object-typed knowledge modeling software, and face-to-face seminars in a work setting. Based on interview and observation data collected during two successive small-scale experimentations of the model, we explored potential factors that could have had an impact on students’ academic retention and achievement. Four types of factors were identified: personal, professional, institutional and pedagogical. We found that pedagogical and professional factors, which are insufficiently considered in theoretical models of student retention, are of primary concern for students who work full-time as professionals. A blended learning model designed at the program level and strongly “situated” in the professional practice of the students is a promising avenue to adjust to their career constraints and aspirations and, thus, promoting their academic retention and achievement