The effects of rho-associated kinase inhibitor Y-27632 on primary human corneal endothelial cells propagated using a dual media approach

10.1038/srep09167Scientific Reports

The tax impact of deriving investment income from selected Asian countries : the Singapore investors' perspective

274 p.More and more investors are looking to investments in Asia due to several reasons: high growth, increasing liberalisation and lucrative returns. Due to this increasing interest in investing in Asian countries, this report equips the investor from Singapore with knowledge on the tax and transaction cost that an investor will incur when deriving investment income from selected Asian countries. As a Singapore resident, he is likely to be considered a non-resident individual or corporation in these countries. The relative favourability of investing in selected Asian countries taking into consideration the tax and transaction costs of such an investor is examined.ACCOUNTANC

Postoperative ocular higher-order aberrations and contrast sensitivity: Femtosecond lenticule extraction versus pseudo small-incision lenticule extraction

10.1016/j.jcrs.2014.07.032Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery413623-63

Closing up onto our sun: solar imaging

Solar activity research provides insight into the Sun’s past, future (Science Daily, 2018). The solar activity includes observations of large numbers of intense sunspots, flares, and other phenomena; and demands a wide range of techniques and measurements on the observations. This research needs long term data collection before critical analyses can occur, to generate meaningful learning and knowledge. In this project, we will use solar imaging to make observations of solar activity, and take our baby steps to make contributions in citizen science. Observations will be made in 3 wavelengths to gain a more thorough analysis by looking at different perspectives of the Sun, namely H-Alpha, Calcium-K, and white light

Closing up onto our sun: solar imaging

Solar activity research provides insight into the Sun’s past, future (Science Daily, 2018). The solar activity includes observations of large numbers of intense sunspots, flares, and other phenomena; and demands a wide range of techniques and measurements on the observations. This research needs long term data collection before critical analyses can occur, to generate meaningful learning and knowledge. In this project, we will use solar imaging to make observations of solar activity, and take our baby steps to make contributions in citizen science. Observations will be made in 3 wavelengths to gain a more thorough analysis by looking at different perspectives of the Sun, namely H-Alpha, Calcium-K, and white light

Prophylactic Vancomycin Drops Reduce the Severity of Early Bacterial Keratitis in Keratoprosthesis

Background: Artificial cornea transplantation, keratoprosthesis, improves vision for patients at high risk of failure with human cadaveric cornea. However, post-operative infection can cause visual loss and implant extrusion in 3.2–17% of eyes. Long-term vancomycin drops are recommended following keratoprosthesis to prevent bacterial keratitis. Evidence, though, in support of this practice is poor. We investigated whether prophylactic vancomycin drops prevented bacterial keratitis in an animal keratoprosthesis model. Methodology: Twenty-three rabbits were assigned either to a prophylactic group (n = 13) that received vancomycin 1.4% drops 5 times/day from keratoprosthesis implantation to sacrifice, or a non-prophylactic group (n = 10) that received no drops. All rabbits had Staphylococcus aureus inoculation into the cornea at 7–12 days post-implantation and were sacrificed at predetermined time-points. Prophylactic and non-prophylactic groups were compared with slit-lamp photography (SLP), anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), and histology, immunohistochemistry and bacterial quantification of excised corneas. Corneal vancomycin pharmacokinetics were studied in 8 additional rabbits. Results: On day 1 post-inoculation, the median SLP score and mean±SEM AS-OCT corneal thickness (CT) were greater in the non-prophylactic than the prophylactic group (11 vs. 1, p = 0.049 and 486.9±61.2 vs. 327.4±37.1 μm, p = 0.029 respectively). On days 2 and 4, SLP scores and CT were not significantly different. Immunohistochemistry showed a greater CD11b+ve/non-CD11b+ve cell ratio in the non-prophylactic group (1.45 vs. 0.71) on day 2. Bacterial counts were not significantly different between the two groups. Corneal vancomycin concentration (2.835±0.383 μg/ml) exceeded minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Staphylococcus aureus only after 16 days of vancomycin drops. Two of 3 rabbits still developed infection despite bacterial inoculation after 16 days of prophylactic drops. Conclusions: Prophylactic vancomycin drops provided short-term benefit, but did not prevent infection. Achieving MIC in the cornea was not sufficient to prevent Staphylococcus aureus keratitis. Patients should continue to be counselled regarding the risk of infection following keratoprosthesis.NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore)Published versio

Prophylactic Vancomycin Drops Reduce the Severity of Early Bacterial Keratitis in Keratoprosthesis

Artificial cornea transplantation, keratoprosthesis, improves vision for patients at high risk of failure with human cadaveric cornea. However, post-operative infection can cause visual loss and implant extrusion in 3.2–17% of eyes. Long-term vancomycin drops are recommended following keratoprosthesis to prevent bacterial keratitis. Evidence, though, in support of this practice is poor. We investigated whether prophylactic vancomycin drops prevented bacterial keratitis in an animal keratoprosthesis model. inoculation into the cornea at 7–12 days post-implantation and were sacrificed at predetermined time-points. Prophylactic and non-prophylactic groups were compared with slit-lamp photography (SLP), anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), and histology, immunohistochemistry and bacterial quantification of excised corneas. Corneal vancomycin pharmacokinetics were studied in 8 additional rabbits. only after 16 days of vancomycin drops. Two of 3 rabbits still developed infection despite bacterial inoculation after 16 days of prophylactic drops. keratitis. Patients should continue to be counselled regarding the risk of infection following keratoprosthesis

Histology.

<p>Haematoxylin and eosin stained corneal sections, comparing vancomycin prophylaxis to non-prophylaxis cases. A. Healthy cornea. B (day 2, prophylaxis). A rich infiltration of neutrophils is present throughout the stroma. The epithelial and endothelial surfaces are irregular due to stromal oedema. C (day 2, non-prophylaxis). The stroma appears more oedematous than in image B. A rich neutrophilic infiltration is also present, mostly in the pocket, but the neutrophils appear to be less densely arranged in the stroma than in image B, most likely reflecting the presence of more oedema. D (day 4, prophylaxis). The stroma is more oedematous than in image B and the Descemets membrane is detached, reflecting greater levels of infection. The neutrophilic infiltration is not as dense as in image B, most likely due to more stromal oedema. E (day 4, non-prophylaxis). The stroma appears similarly oedematous to that in image D and slightly richer in neutrophilic infiltration. (Scale bar 100μm)</p