Improvement of glaucoma drainage valve implantation and its application in refractory glaucoma

AIM:To assess the efficacy and safety of improved glaucoma drainage valve implantation in the treatment of refractory glaucoma after vitrectomy. METHODS: The improved procedure: the surgeon used a crescent knife to make a scleral sleeve with a width of about 2mm and a length of about 3mm behind the limbus 5mm to 7mm; maked a length of about 1.5mm scleral tunnel at a distance of 3.5mm from the limbus; piercing the posterior chamber by a one-time spear knife through the scleral tunnel; the drainage tube was trimmed to the proper length, then placed between the iris and intraocular lens in the posterior chamber through the scleral sleeve and scleral tunnel. Reduce the pupil, we could see the drainage tube port in the pupil margin, drainage tube mouth beveled toward the pupil edge. All patients underwent modified surgical glaucoma drainage valve implantation. Patients incorporated into the study who had secondary glaucoma after vitrectomy and intraocular lens implantation admitted to our hospital from March 2016 to August 2017. Follow-up time: 1, 3d, 1wk, 1 and 6mo, followed up every 6mo. The intraocular pressure, intraoperative and postoperative complications and related treatment methods were analyzed before and after surgery. Intraocular pressure(IOP)at different time points before and after surgery was compared using repeated measures of variance analysis. RESULTS: A total of 26 patients were enrolled in the study. The average IOP was 42.5±8.1 mmHg preoperatively, 12.1±11.2mmHg on the first day after surgery, 14.3±5.9mmHg in the last follow-up. There was a statistically significant difference between preoperative IOP and that on the first postoperative day(PP=0.89). There were 8 eyes with IOP less than 6mmHg on the first postoperative day. There were 6 eyes with IOP higher than 6mmHg on the first postoperative day, then dropped below 6mmHg on the third postoperative day. The rate of early postoperative low intraocular pressure was 54%. IOP returned to normal after intravitreal injection of air, injection of drug(triamcinolone acetonide), or injection of viscoelastic into the anterior chamber. During the follow-up no corneal endothelial decompensation, drainage tube exposure, explosive choroidal hemorrhage, endophthalmitis and other serious complications.CONCLUSION: Improved glaucoma drainage valve implantation is a safe, effective and less-complicated surgical procedure for the treatment of refractory glaucoma. Anterior chamber injection of viscoelastic, vitreous cavity gas injection is a simple, effective, repeatable, and easy-to-use method for the treatment of early hypotony after glaucoma valve implantation

Selection of Pru p 3 hypoallergenic peach and nectarine varieties

To the Editor, Peach is an important fruit consumed worldwide. However, it is also one of the most frequently reported allergenic fruits.1 Component diagnosis of peach allergy indicates Pru p 1, Pru p 2, Pru p 3, Pru p 4, Pru p 7, and Pru p 9 are involved.2, 3 Pru p 3 is the dominant allergen responsible for severe allergic reaction,4 and it is considered to be the primary sensitizer to other LTPs in Mediterranean and Central Europe.5 The levels of Pru p 3 differ between varieties.6 To date, measurement of Pru p 3 in a limited number of peach and nectarines from Spain, United States, and Italy has been reported.7 Significant variation of allergen concentration in processed foods containing peach has also been observed.8 The content of Pru p 3 of peach/nectarine determines the potential risk for peach allergic patients. China is the origin of peach with representative genetic diversity to be explored for hypoallergenic varieties.9 A core collection of 103 varieties cultivated in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province were selected to represent this diversity, including 23 nectarines and 80 peach varieties (with fruit hair, round or flat, 77 cultivated, three wild) (Table S1). The soluble solid content (SSC), ripening date, and peach aroma intensity were recorded. Specific methods are detailed in the Supporting Information. Pru p 3 was quantified by ELISA based on our previous research.6info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Investigating the Multitarget Pharmacological Mechanism of Ursolic Acid Acting on Colon Cancer: A Network Pharmacology Approach

Objective. To explore the mechanisms of ursolic acid for treating colon cancer based on network pharmacology. Method. In this study, the potential targets of ursolic acid against colon cancer were predicted and screened through the TCMSP, SYMMAP, Drug Bank, UNI-PROT, and DISGENET databases. The protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed based on the STRING database, and graphs were drawn with the help of Cytoscape software. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed on the targets by using the DAVID database for biological information annotation. Results. Ursolic acid has 113 targets in the treatment of colon cancer. The core targets included interleukin-6 (IL-6), mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 (MAPK3), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFA), prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), caspase-3 (CASP3), mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (MAPK8), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), cyclin D1 (CCND1), JUN, signal transducer and transcriptional activator 3 (STAT3), and other targets. The first 10 pathways related to colon cancer were screened out. The main signaling pathways included the TNF signaling pathway and the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications and human colon cancer infections. Conclusion. This study revealed that ursolic acid played a multitarget and multichannel antitumor role by inhibiting the proliferation of tumor cells, inducing apoptosis, and enhancing antiangiogenesis

Phase-engineered synthesis of atomically thin te single crystals with high on-state currents

Abstract Multiple structural phases of tellurium (Te) have opened up various opportunities for the development of two-dimensional (2D) electronics and optoelectronics. However, the phase-engineered synthesis of 2D Te at the atomic level remains a substantial challenge. Herein, we design an atomic cluster density and interface-guided multiple control strategy for phase- and thickness-controlled synthesis of α-Te nanosheets and β-Te nanoribbons (from monolayer to tens of μm) on WS2 substrates. As the thickness decreases, the α-Te nanosheets exhibit a transition from metallic to n-type semiconducting properties. On the other hand, the β-Te nanoribbons remain p-type semiconductors with an ON-state current density (ION) up to ~ 1527 μA μm−1 and a mobility as high as ~ 690.7 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature. Both Te phases exhibit good air stability after several months. Furthermore, short-channel (down to 46 nm) β-Te nanoribbon transistors exhibit remarkable electrical properties (ION = ~ 1270 μA μm−1 and ON-state resistance down to 0.63 kΩ μm) at Vds = 1 V

Alloy Engineering Allows On-Demand Design of Ultrasensitive Monolayer Semiconductor SERS Substrates

The chemical mechanism (CM) of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been recognized as a decent approach to mildly amplify Raman scattering. However, the insufficient charge transfer (CT) between the SERS substrate and molecules always results in unsatisfying Raman enhancement, exerting a substantial restriction for CM-based SERS. In principle, CT is dominated by the coupling between the energy levels of a semiconductor-molecule system and the laser wavelength, whereas precise tuning of the energy levels is intrinsically difficult. Herein, two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide alloys, whose energy levels can be precisely and continuously tuned over a wide range by simply adjusting their compositions, are investigated. The alloys enable on-demand construction of the CT resonance channels to cater to the requirements of a specific target molecule in SERS. The SERS signals are highly reproducible, and a clear view of the SERS dependences on the energy levels is revealed for different CT resonance terms