Long-term results of clear lens extraction combined with piggyback intraocular lens implantation to correct high hyperopia

<b>AIM:</b> To assess the refractive outcome of clear lensectomy combined with piggyback intraocular lens implantation in highly hyperopic patients.<b>METHODS:</b> This case review included 19 eyes of 10 patients with high hyperopia and axial length less than 21mm. Intraocular lens power was calculated for emmetropia using the Holladay II formula in 17 eyes, and SRK/T formula in 2 eyes following clear lens extraction and piggyback intraocular lens implantation. Patients were examined periodically over 24 months for visual acuity and spherical equivalent (SE).<b>RESULTS:</b> The mean postoperative SE at 24 months was 0.20±1.39D (range, -3.00 to 2.50D), better than preoperative 9.81±2.62D (range, +6.00 to +14.50D) (<i>P</i><0.001). Five eyes had SE within ±0.5D of emmetropia and 11 eyes within ±1.00D at postoperative 24 months. The mean postoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) at 24 months was 0.60±0.36, significantly improved compared to preoperative 1.39±0.33 (<i>P</i><0.001). The mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 24 months was 0.49±0.35, not statistically different compared to preoperative 0.38±0.30 (<i>P</i>=0.34). Twelve eyes maintained and 1 gained 1 or more Snellen line of BCVA, 4 eyes lost 1 line, and 2 eyes lost 2 lines at 24 postoperative months. Twelve eyes best-corrected near visual acuity (BCNVA) achieved J1 at postoperative 24 months compared to preoperative 7 eyes and the other 7 eyes better than J3.<b>CONCLUSION:</b> Clear lens extraction combined piggyback intraocular lens implantation appears to be an effective procedure to correct high hyperopia but mild overcorrection and intralenticular opacification may require secondary procedure

Antifungal effects of sisal leaf juice on Lasiodiplodia theobromae, the causal agent of mulberry root rot

This study was carried out to evaluate the antifungal activities of leaf juices (fresh juice, fermented juice, boiled juice and sterile juice) of nine sisal varieties on Lasiodiplodia theobromae, the causal agent of mulberry root rot. Results show that all the leaf juices could inhibit the mycelial growth in different degrees (the inhibitory rates ranged from 63.3 to 100%), due to different varieties and treatments. Among the nine varieties, the inhibition effects of hybrid 76416 and Agave americana were the best with absolute inhibition of all the leaf juice treatments against the mycelial growth, followed by Agave Amaniensis, Agave virdis, Agave angustifolia and Hybrid 11648. The inhibitory effect of some fresh juices would be cut down after being fermented, boiled and sterilized. The treated mycelia of L.theobromae were malformed, enlarged, broken and plasma leaked when observed under the microscope. Most of the leaf juices could inhibit the conidial germination absolutely, except A.amaniensis, H.11648 and A. angustifolia. The average germination rate of A. amaniensis, H.11648 and A. angustifolia was 72.4, 16.6 and 13%, respectively. The control efficiency of the fresh juice of H. 11648 against mulberry root rot in the field reached 73.1%.Key words: Sisal, leaf juice, anti-fungi, anti-fungal activities, mulberry root rot, Lasiodiplodia theobromae

Effect of rosiglitazone on rabbit model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

AbstractObjectiveTo explore mechanism and protective effect of rosiglitazone on myocardial ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury.MethodsA total of 48 male Japanese white big-ear rabbits were randomly divided into control group (A), I/R group (B), low dose of rosiglitazone group (C), high dose of rosiglitazone group (D). Plasma concentration of and also reduced the concentration of plasma serum creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), ultra-superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), lactic acid glutathione skin peroxidase (GSH-PX), nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin (ET) were measured 1 h later after I/R. Twenty-four hours after I/R the hearts were harvested for pathological and ultrastructural analysis. Area of myocardial infarction were tested.ResultsPlasma concentration of CK, CK-MB, hsCRP, NO, MDA and ET were decreased in C, D group compared with group B. Plasma concentration of T-SOD and GSH-Px were increased significantly in C, D group compared with group B. Compared with group B, pathological and ultrastructural changes in C and D group were slightly. There was significant difference in myocardial infarction area between group C, D and group B (P<0.05). Myocardial infarction area and arrhythmia rate were lower in group C, D compare with group B.ConclusionsRosiglitazone may protect myocardium from I/R injury by enhancing T-SOD and GSH-Px concentration, inhibit inflammatory reaction, and improve endothelial function

Safety and efficacy of etomidate and propofol anesthesia in elderly patients undergoing gastroscopy: A double-blind randomized clinical study

The aim of the present study is to compare the safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness of anesthetic regimens by compound, using etomidate and propofol in elderly patients undergoing gastroscopy. A total of 200 volunteers (65–79 years of age) scheduled for gastroscopy under anesthesia were randomly divided into the following groups: P, propofol (1.5–2.0 mg/kg); E, etomidate (0.15-0.2 mg/kg); P+E, propofol (0.75–1 mg/kg) followed by etomidate (0.075-0.1 mg/kg); and E+P, etomidate (0.075-0.01 mg/kg) followed by propofol (0.75–1 mg/kg). Vital signs and bispectral index were monitored at different time points. Complications, induction and examination time, anesthesia duration, and recovery and discharge time were recorded. At the end of the procedure, the satisfaction of patients, endoscopists and the anesthetist were evaluated. The recovery (6.1±1.2 h) and discharge times (24.8±2.8 h) in group E were significantly longer compared with groups P, P+E and E+P (P<0.05). The occurrence of injection pain in group P+E was significantly higher compared with the other three groups (P<0.05). In addition, the incidence of myoclonus and post-operative nausea and vomiting were significantly higher in group P+E compared with the other three groups (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference among the four groups with regards to the patients' immediate, post-procedure satisfaction (P>0.05). Furthermore, there was no difference in the satisfaction of anesthesia, as evaluated by the anesthetist and endoscopist, among the four groups (P>0.05). The present study demonstrates that anesthesia for gastroscopy in elderly patients can be safely and effectively accomplished using a drug regimen that combines propofol with etomidate. The combined use of propofol and etomidate has unique characteristics which improve hemodynamic stability, cause minimal respiratory depression and less side effects, provide rapid return to full activity and result in high levels of satisfaction

Surface-Based Regional Homogeneity in First-Episode, Drug-Naive Major Depression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Background. Previous volume-based regional homogeneity (ReHo) studies neglected the intersubject variability in cortical folding patterns. Recently, surface-based ReHo was developed to reduce the intersubject variability and to increase statistical power. The present study used this novel surface-based ReHo approach to explore the brain functional activity differences between first-episode, drug-naive MDD patients and healthy controls. Methods. Thirty-three first-episode, drug-naive MDD patients and 32 healthy controls participated in structural and resting-state fMRI scans. MDD patients were rated with a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression prior to the scan. Results. In comparison with the healthy controls, MDD patients showed reduced surface-based ReHo in the left insula. There was no increase in surface-based ReHo in MDD patients. The surface-based ReHo value in the left insula was not significantly correlated with the clinical information or the depressive scores in the MDD group. Conclusions. The decreased surface-based ReHo in the left insula in MDD may lead to the abnormal top-down cortical-limbic regulation of emotional and cognitive information. The surface-based ReHo may be a useful index to explore the pathophysiological mechanism of MDD.</p

Synthesized Attributes of Water Use by Regional Vegetation: A Key to Cognition of “Water Pump” Viewpoint

Recently, the frequent seasonal drought in Southwest China has brought considerable concerns and continuous heated arguments on the “water pump” viewpoint (i.e., the water demand from Hevea spp. and Eucalyptus spp. can be treated as a water pump) once again. However, such viewpoint just focused on water consumption from vegetation transpiration and its ecoenvironment impacts, which had not considered other attributes of vegetation, namely, water saving and drought resistance, and hydrological regulation (water conservation) into consideration. Thus, in this paper, the synthesized attributes of regional vegetation water use had been mainly discussed. The results showed that the study on such aspects as the characters of water consumption from vegetation transpiration, the potential of water saving and drought resistance, and the effects of hydrological regulation in Southwest China lagged far behind, let alone the report on synthesized attributes of water utilization with the organic combination of the three aspects above or the paralleled analysis. Accordingly, in this paper, the study on the synthesized attributes of water use by regional vegetation in Southwest China was suggested, and the objectives of such a special study were clarified, targeting the following aspects: (i) characters of water consumption from transpiration of regional typical artificial vegetation; (ii) potential of water saving and drought resistance of regional typical artificial vegetation; (iii) effects of hydrological regulation of regional typical artificial vegetation; (iv) synthesized attributes of water use by regional typical artificial vegetation. It is expected to provide a new idea for the scientific assessment on the regional vegetation ecoenvironment effects and theoretical guidance for the regional vegetation reconstruction and ecological restoration

Longitudinal associations between triglycerides and metabolic syndrome components in a Beijing adult population, 2007-2012

Background: Longitudinal associations between triglycerides (TG) and other metabolic syndrome (MetS) components have rarely been reported. The purpose was to investigate the longitudinal association between TG and other MetS components with time. Methods: The longitudinal study was established in 2007 on individuals who attended health check-ups at Beijing Tongren Hospital and Beijing Xiaotangshan Hospital. Data used in this study was based on 7489 participants who had at least three health check-ups over a period of 5-year follow up. Joint model was used to explore longitudinal associations between TG and other MetS components after adjusted for age. Results: There were positive correlations between TG and other MetS components except for high density lipoprotein (HDL), and the correlations increased with time. A negative correlation was displayed between TG and HDL, and the correlation also increased with time. Among all five pairs of TG and other MetS components, the marginal correlation between TG and body mass index (BMI) was the largest for both men and women. The marginal correlation between TG and fasting plasma glucose was the smallest for men, while the marginal correlation between TG and diastolic blood pressure was the smallest for women. Conclusions: The longitudinal association between TG and other MetS components increased with time. Among five pairs of TG and other MetS components, the longitudinal correlation between TG and BMI was the largest. It is important to closely monitor subjects with high levels of TG and BMI in health check-up population especially for women, because these two components are closely associated with development of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other metabolic diseases

Correlation-driven eightfold magnetic anisotropy in a two-dimensional oxide monolayer.

Engineering magnetic anisotropy in two-dimensional systems has enormous scientific and technological implications. The uniaxial anisotropy universally exhibited by two-dimensional magnets has only two stable spin directions, demanding 180° spin switching between states. We demonstrate a previously unobserved eightfold anisotropy in magnetic SrRuO3 monolayers by inducing a spin reorientation in (SrRuO3)1/(SrTiO3) N superlattices, in which the magnetic easy axis of Ru spins is transformed from uniaxial 〈001〉 direction (N &lt; 3) to eightfold 〈111〉 directions (N ≥ 3). This eightfold anisotropy enables 71° and 109° spin switching in SrRuO3 monolayers, analogous to 71° and 109° polarization switching in ferroelectric BiFeO3. First-principle calculations reveal that increasing the SrTiO3 layer thickness induces an emergent correlation-driven orbital ordering, tuning spin-orbit interactions and reorienting the SrRuO3 monolayer easy axis. Our work demonstrates that correlation effects can be exploited to substantially change spin-orbit interactions, stabilizing unprecedented properties in two-dimensional magnets and opening rich opportunities for low-power, multistate device applications