Changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer and ocular parameters in acute anterior uveitis.

Clinical Relevance: Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) can lead to the thickening of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) and induce refractive changes during its active phase.

Background: AAU is a common form of uveitis characterised by inflammation in the anterior chamber. A notable prevalence of optical coherence tomography - defined pRNFL thickening was observed among patients with AAU.

Impacts of Ultrasonic Treatment for Black Soybean Okara Culture Medium Containing Choline Chloride on the β-Glucosidase Activity of BCRC 10357.

The effects of ultrasonic treatment for the culture medium of solid black soybean okara with choline chloride (ChCl) on the survival and β-glucosidase activity of BCRC 10357 (-BCRC10357) were investigated. A mixture of 3% dried black soybean okara in de Man-Rogosa-Sharpe (/) was used as the Oka medium. With ultrasonic treatment (40 kHz/300 W) of the Oka medium at 60 °C for 3 h before inoculation, the β-glucosidase activity of -BCRC10357 at 12 h and 24 h of incubation amounted to 13.

Effectiveness of -Fermented Products and Their Derived Antimicrobial Lipopeptides in Controlling Coccidiosis in Broilers.

This study aimed to investigate the potential of -fermented products (BLFP) and their derived antimicrobial lipopeptide, surfactin, for the prevention of coccidiosis in broilers. Broilers were fed BLFP at 1.25 and 5 g/kg under challenge.

Increased Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection: A Nationwide Population-Based Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Studies evaluating the association between age-related macular degeneration (AMD) risk and HCV infection are scant. In this population-based cohort study, 13,300 patients newly diagnosed as having HCV (HCV cohort) and 26,600 propensity score-matched patients without HCV (non-HCV cohort) were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2013. Furthermore, 1,983 patients with HCV who received pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment (HCV-treated cohort) and propensity score-matched patients with HCV (matched at a ratio of 1:2) who did not receive this treatment (HCV-untreated cohort) were selected from the HCV cohort.

Analysis of Different Types of Interferon-Associated Retinopathy in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection Treated with Pegylated Interferon Plus Ribavirin.

This retrospective cohort study aims to investigate interferon (IFN)-associated retinopathy incidence in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treated with pegylated interferon (PegIFN) plus ribavirin (RBV). We selected 1688 patients undergoing PegIFN/RBV therapy for HCV (HCV-treated cohort), 3376 patients not receiving HCV treatment (HCV-untreated cohort) and 16,880 controls without HCV (non-HCV cohort) from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. The patients were frequency-matched by age, sex, and index date at a 1:2:10 ratio, and followed up until the end of 2013.

Association of chronic hepatitis B virus infection with age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: To study the association between chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods: Data used in this retrospective, frequency-matched cohort study were acquired from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000, which includes medical claims and registration files for 1 000 000 enrolees in the Taiwan National Health Insurance programme. The HBV cohort contained 17 796 patients who received a diagnosis of chronic HBV infection between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2012.