Primary Phacoemulsification and Intraocular Lens Implantation for Acute Primary Angle-Closure

Background: To investigate the effect of primary phacoemulsification on intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with acute primary angle-closure (PAC) and coexisting cataract. Methodology: Sixteen eyes of 14 patients with acute PAC received phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation as initial management for medically uncontrolled IOP in a retrospective chart review. The effects on IOP, vision, anterior chamber depth (ACD), and number of antiglaucoma medications were evaluated. Principal Findings: The postoperative IOP was reduced in 16 eyes (100%). The mean 6 standard deviation preoperative IOP was 48.81616.83 mm Hg, which decreased postoperatively to 16.46610.67 mm Hg at 1 day, 9.4363.03 mm Hg at 1 week

ITPKC Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Associated with the Kawasaki Disease in a Taiwanese Population

Kawasaki disease (KD) is characterized by systemic vasculitis with unknown etiology. Previous studies from Japan indicated that a gene polymorphism of ITPKC (rs28493229) is responsible for susceptibility to KD. We collected DNA samples from 1,531 Taiwanese subjects (341 KD patients and 1,190 controls) for genotyping ITPKC. In this study, no significant association was noted for the ITPKC polymorphism (rs28493229) between the controls and KD patients, although the CC genotype was overrepresented. We further combined our data with previously published case/control KD studies in the Taiwanese population and performed a meta-analysis. A significant association between rs28493229 and KD was found (Odds Ratio:1.36, 95% Confidence Interval 1.12–1.66). Importantly, a significant association was obtained between rs28493229 and KD patients with aneurysm formation (P = 0.001, under the recessive model). Taken together, our results indicated that C-allele of ITPKC SNP rs28493229 is associated with the susceptibility and aneurysm formation in KD patients in a Taiwanese population

Persistent Helicobacter pylori Specific Th17 Responses in Patients with Past H. pylori Infection Are Associated with Elevated Gastric Mucosal IL-1β

10.1371/journal.pone.0039199PLoS ONE76

Lactational coumestrol exposure increases ovarian apoptosis in adult rats

This study is the first to examine the increased apoptosis in the adult rat ovary after lactational exposure to coumestrol (COU), a potent phytoestrogen. Lactating dams were gavaged at doses of 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/kg COU during the lactation period and the reproductive effects of female pups were investigated in young adults. Rats were sacrificed at postnatal days (PND) 81–84. Ovarian weights were reduced significantly at 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg COU. The reduction in the ovarian weight occurred in parallel with an increase in the apoptosis at PND 135–140. A marked dose-dependent increase in the expressions of active caspase-3 and -7 was observed in ovarian granulosa cells. Immunostaining for active caspase-3 and the TUNEL staining of apoptotic cells were also increased in ovaries exposed to COU in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest new sights into the effect of lactational exposure to COU on the female reproductive health

Biofabrication: an overview of the approaches used for printing of living cells

The development of cell printing is vital for establishing biofabrication approaches as clinically relevant tools. Achieving this requires bio-inks which must not only be easily printable, but also allow controllable and reproducible printing of cells. This review outlines the general principles and current progress and compares the advantages and challenges for the most widely used biofabrication techniques for printing cells: extrusion, laser, microvalve, inkjet and tissue fragment printing. It is expected that significant advances in cell printing will result from synergistic combinations of these techniques and lead to optimised resolution, throughput and the overall complexity of printed constructs