Intraocular Pressure-Lowering Efficacy of a Sustained-Release Bimatoprost Implant in Dog Eyes Pretreated with Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty.

To assess the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering effect of a biodegradable bimatoprost implant following selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) in a canine model. Unilateral SLT was performed in 11 normotensive, treatment-naive beagle dogs. IOP was measured at baseline (pre-SLT) and weekly post-SLT (≤10 weeks).

[Emergency call center in the era of : when to dispatch an ambulance ?].

There is a growing demand for prehospital ambulance transport. These urgent transports however seem to be largely misused and are accompanied by risks. Several strategies have been studied with the aim of reducing demand on an already under pressure system.

A nonhuman primate model of blue light-induced progressive outer retina degeneration showing brimonidine drug delivery system-mediated cyto- and neuroprotection.

Geographic atrophy (GA) is an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) characterized by atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), loss of photoreceptors, and disruption of choriocapillaris. Excessive light exposure is toxic to the retina and is a known risk factor for AMD. We first investigated the effects of blue light-induced phototoxicity on RPE and photoreceptors in nonhuman primates (NHPs, a model of progressive retinal degeneration) and then evaluated the potential cyto- and neuroprotective effects of the brimonidine drug delivery system (Brimo DDS).

Relationship between the occlusal plane corresponding to the lateral borders of the tongue and ala-tragus line in edentulous patients.

Aim: Definitions of the ala-tragus line (ATL) cause confusion, because the exact points of reference for this line do not agree. This study determined the relationship between the prosthetic occlusal plane (OP) corresponding to the lateral borders of the tongue and ATL which was established by using the inferior border of the ala of the nose and (1) the superior border of the tragus (ATL 1), (2) the tip (ATL 2) and (3) the inferior border of the tragus (ATL 3).

Materials And Methods: Neutral zone moldings using phonation and autopolymerizing acrylic resin were recorded and leveled with the lateral borders of the tongue.

Assessment of the differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics between four distinct formulations of triamcinolone acetonide.

Purpose: To compare the durability of Kenalog, Trivaris, Triesence, and compounding pharmacy preservative-free triamcinolone acetonide in pigmented rabbits with syneretic vitreous using direct visualization, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics.

Methods: Twenty-five Dutch-belted rabbits were used. Pharmacokinetic experiment: Rabbits were intravitreally injected with one of four 4-mg triamcinolone acetonide formulations.

Pharmacokinetics of a sustained-release dexamethasone intravitreal implant in vitrectomized and nonvitrectomized eyes.

Purpose: To evaluate dexamethasone pharmacokinetics after implantation of a sustained-release dexamethasone (DEX) intravitreal implant in nonvitrectomized and vitrectomized eyes.

Methods: The right eyes of 25 rabbits underwent vitrectomy; contralateral eyes served as nonvitrectomy controls. The 0.

Treatment of experimental anterior and intermediate uveitis by a dexamethasone intravitreal implant.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of a dexamethasone (DEX) intravitreal implant in a rabbit model of anterior and intermediate uveitis.

Methods: Experimental anterior and intermediate uveitis was induced by a unilateral intracameral injection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra antigen in preimmunized rabbits. Four days after uveitis induction, rabbits received DEX implant or underwent a sham procedure (no implant).

Effect of different modes of light curing and resin composites on microleakage of Class II restorations--Part II.

Introduction: To reduce the polymerization shrinkage of the composite resins and after the introduction of the "slow and gradual polymerization" by GORACCI et al. in 1992, many light curing units (LCU) presented the "soft-start polymerization" in addition to the classical high light intensity mode. This study investigated whether this slow and gradual polymerization has the ability of reducing the marginal debonding, by minimizing the internal stress of the composite, knowing that rare are the studies which compared this mode of polymerization.

Vitreous VEGF clearance is increased after vitrectomy.

Purpose. Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) has been reported to reduce macular thickness and improve visual acuity in patients with diabetic macular edema (ME). The hypothesis for the study was that after PPV, clearance is accelerated and VEGF concentrations are reduced.

Casein kinase 1alpha interacts with retinoid X receptor and interferes with agonist-induced apoptosis.

Agonists of retinoid X receptors (RXRs), which include the natural 9-cis-retinoic acid and synthetic analogs, are potent inducers of growth arrest and apoptosis in some cancer cells. As such, they are being used in clinical trials for the treatment and prevention of solid tumors and are used to treat cutaneous T cell lymphoma. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the anti-cancer effects of RXR agonists remain unclear.

Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)-independent regulation of beta-catenin degradation via a retinoid X receptor-mediated pathway.

Beta-catenin is a component of stable cell adherent complexes whereas its free form functions as a transcription factor that regulate genes involved in oncogenesis and metastasis. Free beta-catenin is eliminated by two adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)-dependent proteasomal degradation pathways regulated by glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3 beta) or p53-inducible Siah-1. Dysregulation of beta-catenin turnover consequent to mutations in critical genes of the APC-dependent pathways is implicated in cancers such as colorectal cancer.

Retinoid-dependent recruitment of a histone H1 displacement activity by retinoic acid receptor.

Targeted recruitment of histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activities by sequence-specific transcription factors, including the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs), has been proposed to lead to destabilization of nucleosomal cores by acetylation of core histones. However, biochemical evidence indicates that destabilization and depletion of linker H1 histones must also occur at the promoter regions of actively transcribing genes. Mechanisms by which nuclear receptors and other transcription factors affect the removal of histone H1 from transcriptionally silent chromatin have not been previously described.

Identification and characterization of a retinoid-induced class II tumor suppressor/growth regulatory gene.

Retinoids, synthetic and natural analogs of retinoic acid, exhibit potent growth inhibitory and cell differentiation activities that account for their beneficial effects in treating hyperproliferative diseases such as psoriasis, actinic keratosis, and certain neoplasias. Tazarotene is a synthetic retinoid that is used in the clinic for the treatment of psoriasis. To better understand the mechanism of retinoid action in the treatment of hyperproliferative diseases, we used a long-range differential display-PCR to isolate retinoid-responsive genes from primary human keratinocytes.

The role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca: the effect of topical Cyclosporin A therapy.

Purpose: The exact etiology of dry eye is unknown but is believed to be multifactorial. Apoptosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases such as Sjögren's syndrome (SS). This study attempted to gain a better understanding of the role of apoptosis and its regulation in the patho-physiology of dry eye.

Tazarotene-induced gene 2 (TIG2), a novel retinoid-responsive gene in skin.

Retinoids exert their biologic effects through two families of nuclear receptors, retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs), which belong to the superfamily of steroid/thyroid hormone nuclear receptors. By using a subtraction hybridization approach, we have identified a cDNA sequence TIG2 (Tazarotene-induced gene 2), whose expression is up-regulated by the treatment of skin raft cultures by an RAR beta/gamma-selective anti-psoriatic synthetic retinoid tazarotene [AGN 190168/ethyl 6-[2-(4,4-dimethylthiochroman-6-yl)-ethynyl] nicotinate]. The retinoid-mediated up-regulation in the expression of TIG2 was confirmed by Northern blot analysis.

Effect of platelet-derived growth factor on rabbit corneal wound healing.

Human recombinant platelet-derived growth factor was evaluated with the use of wound healing models in New Zealand albino rabbits. The efficacy of the platelet-derived growth factor dimers, AA, AB, and BB, was determined in corneal reepithelialization and anterior keratectomy models which examined the healing response in the presence or absence of the basement membrane. All dimers increased the rate of wound healing in both models at 100 microg/ml when compared with control; however, the platelet-derived growth factor-BB isoform showed the most dramatic increase in both studies.

Structural organization of a src gene from Xenopus laevis.

By sequence analysis of genomic clones, the exon-intron structure of one of the two src genes from Xenopus laevis has been determined. The coding region of the gene is interrupted by 10 introns whose locations are identical to the introns in the coding regions of the src genes of human and chicken. The 5' untranslated region is contained on a separate exon with no sequence conservation relative to the corresponding region of the chicken gene.

Isolation and characterization of the gene expressing the major salivary gland protein of the female mosquito, Aedes aegypti.

We have undertaken a molecular analysis of the salivary glands of hematophagous insects in order to better understand their role in blood feeding and in the transmission of infectious diseases. To that end, genomic and cDNA clones of a gene designated D7, expressed abundantly in the adult female salivary glands of the vector mosquito aegypti, have been isolated and characterized. This gene encodes a mRNA shown by Northern analysis and in situ hybridization to tissue sections to be specifically transcribed in the distal-lateral and medial lobes of the glands, regions that are highly differentiated in females.

Structure and expression of fyn genes in Xenopus laevis.

By low stringency screening of a Xenopus laevis oocyte cDNA library with a probe prepared from the yes oncogene of the avian retrovirus Y73, we have isolated clones encoding a 537 amino acid protein with 96% amino acid identity to the protein product of the human fyn proto-oncogene. In addition to the high degree of conservation at the amino acid sequence level, we also find a surprisingly high degree of sequence conservation between portions of the 5' untranslated regions of the frog and human genes. Probing of total DNA from a homozygous diploid frog with a fragment from one of the cDNA clones gave a hybridization pattern which is consistent with the presence of two fyn genes in the haploid Xenopus laevis genome.

Nucleotide sequencing and expression of the fadL gene involved in long-chain fatty acid transport in Escherichia coli.

The fadL gene of Escherichia coli codes for an outer membrane protein involved in long-chain fatty acid transport. Its product was purified from outer membrane proteins. We determined the nucleotide sequence of a 2.

Purification and characterization of an outer membrane-bound protein involved in long-chain fatty acid transport in Escherichia coli.

We report the purification and localization of the fadL gene product (FLP), an essential component of the long-chain fatty acid transport machinery in Escherichia coli. FLP was extracted from total membranes by differential extraction with the nonionic detergents Tween 20 and Triton X-100. This protein was further purified from a Tween 20-insoluble-Triton X-100-soluble extract by salt fractionation, gel filtration chromatography, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography.