Clinical effects research of the excision of pterygium combined with limbal epithelial autograft with conjunctival grafting on recurrent pterygium

AIM: To observe the clinical effects of the excision of pterygium combined with limbal epithelial autograft with conjunctival grafting on recurrent pterygium. <p>METHODS: Totally 84 patients(84 eyes)with first recurrent pterygium were allocated two groups: excision pterygium with limbal epithelial autograft with conjunctival(group A, 43 cases with 43 eyes)and excision of pterygium with conjunctival autograft(group B, 41 cases with 41 eyes), the post-operative follow-up period of 12 months, we analyzed the repair time of epithelium, tear break-up time(1 month and 3 months), Schirmer l test(1 month and 3 months), corneal fluorescence staining test(1 month and 3 months), and recurrent rate. <p>RESULTS: The group A had a shorter repair time of epithelium and lower recurrent rate, compared with the group B, which had statistically significant difference(<i>P</i><0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in the tear break-up time, corneal fluorescence staining test and the Schirmer l test in 1 month and 3 months between the two groups(<i>P</i>>0.05). <p>CONCLUSION:Limbal epithelial autograft with conjunctival transplantation is a convenient, safe, effective method for the treatment of recurrent pterygium

Two variants on T2DM susceptible gene HHEX are associated with CRC risk in a Chinese population

Increasing amounts of evidence has demonstrated that T2DM (Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus) patients have increased susceptibility to CRC (colorectal cancer). As HHEX is a recognized susceptibility gene in T2DM, this work was focused on two SNPs in HHEX, rs1111875 and rs7923837, to study their association with CRC. T2DM patients without CRC (T2DM-only, n=300), T2DM with CRC (T2DM/CRC, n=135), cancer-free controls (Control, n=570), and CRC without T2DM (CRC-only, n=642) cases were enrolled. DNA samples were extracted from the peripheral blood leukocytes of the patients and sequenced by direct sequencing. The χ(2) test was used to compare categorical data. We found that in T2DM patients, rs1111875 but not the rs7923837 in HHEX gene was associated with the occurrence of CRC (p= 0.006). for rs1111875, TC/CC patients had an increased risk of CRC (p=0.019, OR=1.592, 95%CI=1.046-2.423). Moreover, our results also indicated that the two variants of HEEX gene could be risk factors for CRC in general population, independent on T2DM (p< 0.001 for rs1111875, p=0.001 for rs7923837). For rs1111875, increased risk of CRC was observed in TC or TC/CC than CC individuals (p<0.001, OR= 1.780, 95%CI= 1.385-2.287; p<0.001, OR= 1.695, 95%CI= 1.335-2.152). For rs7923837, increased CRC risk was observed in AG, GG, and AG/GG than AA individuals (p< 0.001, OR= 1.520, 95%CI= 1.200-1.924; p=0.036, OR= 1.739, 95%CI= 0.989-3.058; p< 0.001, OR= 1.540, 95%CI= 1.225-1.936). This finding highlights the potentially functional alteration with HHEX rs1111875 and rs7923837 polymorphisms may increase CRC susceptibility. Risk effects and the functional impact of these polymorphisms need further validation

Effects of Lower Limb Cycling Training on Different Components of Force and Fatigue in Individuals With Parkinson’s Disease

The strength of lower extremity is important for individuals to maintain balance and ambulation functions. The previous studies showed that individuals with Parkinson’s disease suffered from fatigue and strength loss of central origin. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lower extremities’ cycling training on different components of force and fatigue in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Twenty-four individuals (13 males, 11 females, mean age: 60.58 ± 8.21 years) diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease were randomized into training and control groups. The maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force, voluntary activation level (VA), and twitch force of knee extensors were measured using a custom-made system with surface electrical stimulation. The general, central, and peripheral fatigue indexes (GFI, CFI, and PFI) were calculated after a fatiguing cycling protocol. Subjects received 8 weeks of low resistance cycling training (training group) or self-stretching (control group) programs. Results showed that MVC, VA, and twitch force improved (p \u3c 0.05) only in the training group. Compared to the baseline, central fatigue significantly improved in the training group, whereas peripheral fatigue showed no significant difference in two groups. The cycling training was beneficial for individuals with Parkinson’s disease not only in muscle strengthening but also in central fatigue alleviation. Further in-depth investigation is required to confirm the effect of training and its mechanism on central fatigue

Estrogen Modulates the Sensitivity of Lung Vagal C Fibers in Female Rats Exposed to Intermittent Hypoxia

Obstructive sleep apnea is mainly characterized by intermittent hypoxia (IH), which is associated with hyperreactive airway diseases and lung inflammation. Sensitization of lung vagal C fibers (LVCFs) induced by inflammatory mediators may play a central role in the pathogenesis of airway hypersensitivity. In females, estrogen interferes with inflammatory signaling pathways that may modulate airway hyperreactivity. In this study, we investigated the effects of IH on the reflex and afferent responses of LVCFs to chemical stimulants and lung inflammation in adult female rats, as well as the role of estrogen in these responses. Intact and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats were exposed to room air (RA) or IH for 14 consecutive days. On day 15, IH enhanced apneic responses to right atrial injection of chemical stimulants of LVCFs (e.g., capsaicin, phenylbiguanide, and α,β-methylene-ATP) in intact anesthetized females. Rats subjected to OVX prior to IH exposure exhibited an augmented apneic response to the same dose of stimulants compared with rats subjected to other treatments. Apneic responses to the stimulants were completely abrogated by bilateral vagotomy or perivagal capsaicin treatment, which blocked the neural conduction of LVCFs. Electrophysiological experiments revealed that in IH-exposed rats, OVX potentiated the excitability of LVCFs to stimulants. Moreover, LVCF hypersensitivity in rats subjected to OVX prior to IH exposure was accompanied by enhanced lung inflammation, which was reflected by elevated inflammatory cell infiltration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung lipid peroxidation, and protein expression of inflammatory cytokines. Supplementation with 17β-estradiol (E2) at a low concentration (30 μg/ml) but not at high concentrations (50 and 150 μg/ml) prevented the augmenting effects of OVX on LVCF sensitivity and lung inflammation caused by IH. These results suggest that ovarian hormones prevent the enhancement of LVCF sensitivity and lung inflammation by IH in female rats, which are related to the effect of low-dose estrogen

Research Progress on the Antioxidation of Edible Vegetable Oils

Edible vegetable oils could provide energy, essential fatty acids and various micronutrients required in the body. However, vegetable oils, being rich in unsaturated fatty acids, are susceptible to oxidation to produce a series of oxidation products that are harmful to health after consumption, due to environmental factors during processing and storage. Therefore, this paper introduced the causes of oxidation in edible vegetable oils, the mechanism of lipid autoxidation, the main oxidation pathways and the hazards of oil oxidation, and the research progress of antioxidation on edible vegetable oils were also reviewed, including low-temperature storage, gas-conditioned storage and adding single or combined antioxidants. Meanwhile, the current problems on the lipid oxidation and the antioxidant measures in edible vegetable oils were discussed. This work could be expected to provide some references for the researches focusing on the oxidative stability of edible vegetable oils

Analysis of Personal Life Patterns Using Accelerometer-Based Wearable Devices

Many commercially available wearable devices are equipped with sensors to measure motion and physiological signals from the wearer. G-sensors are commonly used in such wearable devices for counting steps, estimating energy expenditure and detecting sleep duration. In this study, two features derived from G-sensor motion signals, average cadence (step count divided by time) and ratio of high G value (outside the range of 0.5g~1.5g), were used to classify physical activities into four intensity levels (sedentary, light, moderate, hard). Eighty physical activity samples were collected and trained by the Weka machine learning software to form a classification model. G-sensor motion signals from four participants were collected over two weeks and classified into four activity intensity levels using the model. Physical activity levels (PAL) and personal life patterns of the participants were then derived. This data can then be used to tailor additional services for individual users of wearable devices. A BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) based system for older adults with dementia, combining personal life pattern analysis with localization function, is also proposed as an example application.</p